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In this paper, the total-dose effect of X-ray irradiation on low-temperature polycrystalline-silicon (LTPS) thin film transistors (TFTs) is studied. Experiments under different conditions, including fixed intensity, fixed time, fixed total dose, short shot with different frequencies and high/low intensity for short/long time were performed and analyzed. With an increase of the irradiation dose, the threshold voltage ( ${V}_{ {th}}$ ) shifts negatively, the subthreshold swing ( $S.S$ .) degrades and the field effect mobility decreases owing to positive trapped charges and interface traps. All magnitude of negative shifts of ( ${V} _{ {th}}$ ), ( $ {S.S.}$ ) and field effect mobility for LTPS TFTs are well correlated to the total accumulated dose. The results are consistent with ( ${V} _{ {th}}$ ) shift due to trapped holes and the interface traps for mobility.

It is time-consuming to prepare training and testing data for object detection by using deep learning. In this paper, we proposed a method to generate the training data using CAD models instead of using real objects. To achieve this, we needed to convert the CAD models into point clouds. Then, the objects to be detected also needed to be converted into the point-cloud format. The key to obtaining the point clouds of the objects was to find their masks using depth images captured by a depth camera. After the mask of all the objects were available, we separated the mask into each object's mask. The separated mask was then used on the depth image to obtain the object's point cloud for object detection. Using the proposed method, it was possible to use 3D CAD data to quickly train a deep learning model to detect objects. Our preliminary results showed that the accuracy of object detection reached about 89%.

This paper presents a new power allocation method for two-user downlink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) systems with imperfect channel estimation. Given channel estimates and the corresponding mean-squared error (MSE) information, capacity lower bounds are used to determine an upper bound of the system outage probability (SOP) based on the transmission rate requirements of both users. Subsequently, a closed-form power allocation solution is derived for the two users such that the SOP upper bound is minimized under a total power constraint. The solution requires only a few numerical operations to calculate the power allocation factor according to the MSE information of channel estimation. Its complexity is lower than existing closed-form or iterative solutions. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves pretty good performance in terms of the SOP upper bound and the bit error rate for different transmission rate requirements.

Collecting surrounding vehicles' motion information is one of the key issues for accident prevention and autonomous driving. Although multi-vehicle simulation frameworks are widely provided, We need a platform that enable inter-vehicle V2X communications. In this work, based on the open source simulation platform, CARLA, we extend and implement several modules to build a V2X simulation framework. In the proposed framework, vehicles are allowed to share their profiles and sensory data through V2X communications. With the motion information of other vehicles, a car can thus make more intelligent decisions. To validate the effectiveness of the framework, we run simulations in variose scenarios. Each time, a primary vehicle is selected and then both its sensory data and received surrounding vehicles' information are output and recorded in a simulated dataset. It is shown that with the dataset and our multi-vehicle data fusion algorithm, the primary vehicle can visually see the driving status of surrounding cars, which can greatly help a vehicle to choose a better driving strategy. This work not only proposes a V2X communication-enabled multi-vehicle simulation framework based on CARLA, but also provides a low cost way to generate simulated V2X datasets.

Collecting vehicle surrounding information is a key issue for accident prevention and autonomous driving applications. Although GPS and 4G/LTE are widely accepted, it is still a challenge for a vehicle to get complete information of its surrounding vehicles. In this work, we consider the integration of multi-sensory data through V2V communications to help a vehicle to understand its complex surroundings. We propose a fusion algorithm that can integrate four types of sensory inputs: V2V communications, GPS, camera, and inertial data. We show that through such fusion, it is possible for a vehicle to visually see the driving states of its surrounding vehicles.

Blue light-induced phototoxicity plays an important role in retinal degeneration and might cause damage as a consequence of smartphone dependency. Here, we investigated the effects of periodic exposure to blue light-emitting diode in a cell model and a rat retinal damage model. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells were subjected to blue light in vitro and the effects of blue light on activation of key apoptotic pathways were examined by measuring the levels of Bcl-2, Bax, Fas ligand (FasL), Fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD), and caspase-3 protein. Blue light treatment of RPE cells increased Bax, cleaved caspase-3, FasL, and FADD expression, inhibited Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL accumulation, and inhibited Bcl-2/Bax association. A rat model of retinal damage was developed with or without continuous or periodic exposure to blue light for 28 days. In this rat model of retinal damage, periodic blue light exposure caused fundus damage, decreased total retinal thickness, caused atrophy of photoreceptors, and injured neuron transduction in the retina.

In this study, effect of anodization temperature on the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of nanostructured hematite films prepared by anodizing the sputtered iron films on the fluorine-doped SnO 2 glass substrate was investigated. It was noted that increasing the anodization temperature would induce the hematite nanostructure developing from film-like to nanorod morphology. Importantly, this morphology transformation is noted to accompany with the enhanced PEC performance up to 0.59 mA/cm 2 (nanorod structured anodized at 60 °C). Our results clearly demonstrated that the potential of post-treatment using anodization to further enhance the PEC performance of hematite films.

Chloramphenicol is an inexpensive and excellent bactericidal antibiotic. It is used to combat anaerobic infections in the Third World countries, whereas its systemic application has been abandoned in developed countries. However, in recent years, clinicians have reintroduced chloramphenicol in clinical practice. In this study, chloramphenicol was found to repress the oxygen-labile transcription factor, hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1&alpha, ), in hypoxic A549 and H1299 cells. Furthermore, it suppressed the mRNA levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and glucose transporter 1, eventually decreasing VEGF release. Chloramphenicol initiated the autophagy pathway in treated cells, as observed by the increase in formation of Atg12-Atg5 conjugates, and in beclin-1 and LC3-II levels. The chloramphenicol-mediated HIF-1&alpha, degradation was completely reverted by autophagic flux blockage. In HIF-1&alpha, overexpressing cells, the formation of HIF-1&alpha, /SENP-1 (Sentrin/SUMO-specific protease 1) protein complex seemed to facilitate the escape of HIF-1&alpha, from degradation. Chloramphenicol inhibited HIF-1&alpha, /SENP-1 protein interaction, thereby destabilizing HIF-1&alpha, protein. The enhancement in HIF-1&alpha, degradation due to chloramphenicol was evident during the incubation of the antibiotic before hypoxia and after HIF-1&alpha, accumulation. Since HIF-1&alpha, plays multiple roles in infections, inflammation, and cancer cell stemness, our findings suggest a potential clinical value of chloramphenicol in the treatment of these conditions.

Gastrointestinal mucositis is a serious side effect of chemotherapy. Currently, no effective treatment exists for chemotherapy-induced mucositis, prompting the need to develop an anti-mucositis agent for use in clinics. The present study investigated whether azatyrosine-PBHA (AzP), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, has a therapeutic effect on intestinal mucosa. The results indicated that AzP did not affect the proliferation and viability of cancer cells, outcomes that are achieved by suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA). However, AzP could decrease production of the inflammatory mediators interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and tumor-necrosis factor-&alpha, (TNF-&alpha, ). In vivo histopathological assessment showed that AzP reduced cisplatin-induced injury to the jejunum villi and triggered weight loss in the C57BL/6 mice. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) results demonstrated that mice treated with AzP also recovered from cisplatin-induced injury to the intestinal mucosa. Mechanistic in vitro study using DAVID/KEGG enrichment analysis of microarray data and confirmation by a Western blot indicated the influence of AzP on the MEK/ERK and AKT-dependent pathway. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that AzP might regulate the MEK/ERK MAPK signaling pathway to attenuate MCP-1, TNF-&alpha, and IL-6 production and provide opportunities for the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs targeting mucositis.

The extraction of a cell's nucleus is an essential technique required for a number of procedures, such as disease diagnosis, genetic replication, and animal cloning. However, existing nucleus extraction techniques are relatively inefficient and labor-intensive. Therefore, this study presents an innovative, microfluidics-based approach featuring optically-induced cell lysis (OICL) for nucleus extraction and collection in an automatic format. In comparison to previous micro-devices designed for nucleus extraction, the new OICL device designed herein is superior in terms of flexibility, selectivity, and efficiency. To facilitate this OICL module for continuous nucleus extraction, we further integrated an optically-induced dielectrophoresis (ODEP) module with the OICL device within the microfluidic chip. This on-chip integration circumvents the need for highly trained personnel and expensive, cumbersome equipment. Specifically, this microfluidic system automates four steps by 1) automatically focusing and transporting cells, 2) releasing the nuclei on the OICL module, 3) isolating the nuclei on the ODEP module, and 4) collecting the nuclei in the outlet chamber. The efficiency of cell membrane lysis and the ODEP nucleus separation was measured to be 78.04 ± 5.70% and 80.90 ± 5.98%, respectively, leading to an overall nucleus extraction efficiency of 58.21 ± 2.21%. These results demonstrate that this microfluidics-based system can successfully perform nucleus extraction, and the integrated platform is therefore promising in cell fusion technology with the goal of achieving genetic replication, or even animal cloning, in the near future.

To determine the toxic effects of long-term topical usage of fluorometholone (FLM) on ganglion cells using a direct in vivo retinopathological Brown Norway (BN) rat model. The BN rat retinal model was investigated with a minimum of 3 rats and a maximum of 4 rats per group. Rats received vehicle and 0.02% FLM suspension via topical administration 3 times a day for 28 days. The fundus images and retinal vessels were detected on days 1, 14, and 28 using Micron III retinal imaging microscope and fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA). For retinal structures, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images were taken after FFA on days 1, 14, and 28 using an SD-OCT Imaging System. For retinal function, electrical signal transduction of photoreceptors and bipolar cells was determined by electroretinographic (ERG) recording on days 1 and 28 and IOP detection. At the end of the experiment on day 28, immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assay were performed to investigate apoptosis in ganglion cells. Total retina and nerve fiber layer (NFL) to the inner plexiform layer (IPL) were significantly thinner following 28 days of FLM treatment. Hematoxylin and eosin stain showed that there were NFL and ganglion cell layer deformations in the FLM group. With FLM treatment, TUNEL assay showed approximately a 4.68-fold increase in apoptotic cells. Moreover, FLM decreased ERG b-wave amplitude by about 56%. Using ophthalmofundoscopy devices, after 28 days of topical administration, FLM decreased NFL-IPL and total retina thickness. This suggests that long-term FLM induces adverse effects with respect to ganglion cell apoptosis.

In this paper, the behavior of the low-temperature polycrystalline-silicon (LTPS) thin film transistors (TFTs) during x-ray irradiation and gate bias voltage (VG) simultaneously is analyzed. Both n-type and p-type LTPS TFTs show negative shifts of threshold voltage under same dose of x-ray irradiation, regardless of the VG polarity, while the field effect mobility of n-type LTPS TFT keeps fairly well. The degradation of subthreshold swing is attributed to the interface states, which can be repaired by 300 °C annealing. A model is proposed to explain the results for different VG, and verified by changing the thickness of the gate oxide. More irradiation-induced holes are trapped by the far defects owing to the electric field. This study can be helpful to develop more stable devices or circuits for the application of x-ray image sensors.

The key to safe driving is the adequate distribution of the driver's attention to the forward area and to other non-forward focal points. However, thus far, current methods are not able to well quantify the entire process of a driver's attention allocation. Therefore, this study proposed a novel concept of renewal cycles for representing and analyzing driver attention allocation. Using the 100-car naturalistic glance data, this study found that 90.74% of drivers' attention allocations were 2-glance renewal cycles. The findings suggest that the sample drivers usually separated their lapses of attention from the forward direction into several sequences by directing their vision back to the forward direction after each visual shift away from it. In addition, although a markedly smaller number of cycles were more than 3-glances (2.09% renewal cycles), drivers were certainly less aware of the frontal area and at a higher risk of having an accident during such cycles. This finding might have striking implications for accident prevention. This area of study deserves further attention. Among the generated renewal cycles, lots of them repeated frequently, especially cycles related to invehicle distractions. To analyze the different characteristics among various attributes, distribution of the common renewal cycles under different conditions was examined. As expected, drivers displayed different renewal cycles under various road conditions and with various driver intentions. Although these sample drivers were not representative, the preliminary research results were promising and fruitful for potential applications, particularly educating novice drivers. Keywords: Driver distraction; Language: en

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that is highly expressed in multiple organs and tissues. Whereas AhR mediates the metabolism of xenobiotic and endogenous compounds, its novel function in cancer epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) remains controversial. Autophagy also participates in tumour progression through its functions in cell homeostasis and facilitates adaptation to EMT progression. In the present study, we found that AhR-regulated autophagy positively modulates EMT in non-small cell lung cancer cells. The motility of A549, H1299, and CL1-5 cells were correlated with different AhR expression levels. Invasive potential and cell morphology also changed when AhR protein expression was altered. Moreover, AhR levels exerted a contrasting effect on autophagy potential. Autophagy was higher in CL1-5 and H1299 cells with lower AhR levels than in A549 cells. Both AhR overexpression and autophagy inhibition decreased CL1-5 metastasis in vivo. Furthermore, AhR promoted BNIP3 ubiquitination for proteasomal degradation. AhR silencing in A549 cells also reduced BNIP3 ubiquitination. Taken together, these results provide a novel insight into the cross-linking between AhR and autophagy, we addressed the mechanistic BNIP3 modulation by endogenous AhR, which affect cancer cell EMT progression.

This study aimed to determine whether brazilin exhibits anti-inflammatory effects that inhibit T helper cell type II (T(H)2) responses and whether it suppresses allergic inflammation reactions in a murine model of asthma. We found that brazilin inhibited the mRNA and protein expression of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 induced by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and cAMP in EL-4 T cells in a dose-dependent manner. Following the intratracheal instillation of brazilin in ovalbumin (OVA)-immunized mice, we found that brazilin-treated mice exhibited decreases in the release of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, eotaxin-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); inhibited T(H)2 functioning via a decrease in IL-4 production; and exhibited attenuation of OVA-induced lung eosinophilia, airway hyperresponsiveness, and airway remodeling. These results suggest that brazilin exhibits anti-T(H)2 effects both in vitro and in vivo and may possess therapeutic potential for allergic diseases.

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 )o f>99.9% purity was artificially released to simulate the emission sources in the etching-thin film area of a working cleanroom in a semiconductor fab at the rate of 492 g/h. Three mobile Fourier transform infrared spectrometers (FTIRs, detection limit: 10 ppb) were used simultaneously to measure the real time SF6 concentrations at different locations of the cleanroom. A three-dimensional numerical model was also used to predict the unsteady gas concentration distribution and the results were compared with the experimental data. Due to high dilution of the pollutant in the cleanroom, it is found that the current gas sensors may not be sensitive enough and a better monitoring system and strategy is needed to protect workers from injury and to ensure good product yield. After comparison with the validated numerical results, the well-mixed model is found to predict the peak pollutant concentrations within a reasonable range which is 0.34–1.33 times the experimental values except when the monitored distance is very close to the release point. The well-mixed model is shown to be capable of predicting a reasonable attainable maximum concentration once a pollutant leaks in the cleanroom.

A new tube cross-flow bundle heat exchanger has been designed and tested for thermophoretic deposition of submicron aerosol particles. The present design has five columns of hot and cold square tubes, respectively, arranged in a staggered manner to maintain a nearly constant temperature gradient in the direction of the aerosol flow. Each column has four tubes of 4 mm × 4 mm in cross section and the gap between the tube surfaces is 0.5 mm. The precipitator was tested experimentally using monodisperse NaCl test particles ranging from 38 to 397 nm in diameter at the aerosol flow rate of 0.6 and 1.2 L/min, respectively, at different temperature gradients. Results showed that the thermophoretic deposition efficiency increased with decreasing aerosol flow rate and increasing temperature gradient with the maximum thermophoretic deposition efficiency occurred at the aerosol flow rate of 0.6 L/min. The effect of inlet temperature of the aerosol flow on the efficiency was also tested and showed increasing inlet tem...

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) of > 99.9% in purity was artificially released to simulate the emission sources in the etching/thin-film area of a working cleanroom in a semiconductor fab at the rate of 492 g/h. The temporal and spatial dispersion patterns of the gas pollutant were studied during the simulated preventive maintenance (PM) and pipe leaking exhaust events experimentally and numerically. Three mobile Fourier transform infrared spectrometers (FTIRs, detection limit: 10 ppb) were used simultaneously to measure the real time SF6 concentrations in different locations of the etching/thin-film area of the cleanroom. An additional open-path FTIR with very low detection limit of 0.4 ppb was installed before the recirculation duct in the lithography area to monitor if the pollutant drifted from the etching/thin-film area to the lithography area. The results show that the 3-D numerical model predicts the unsteady gas concentration accurately in both the peak concentration and the time required to reach the peak concentration. Due to high dilution of the pollutant in the cleanroom, the current gas sensors may not be sensitive enough and a better monitoring system and strategy is needed to protect workers from injury and ensure good product yield. The well-mixed model predicts the peak pollutant concentrations within a reasonable range which is 0.34-1.33 times the experimental values except when the monitored distance is very close to the release point. Although it is not able to predict the time required to reach the peak concentration and the time for the concentration to drop below a small level, the simple well-mixed model can be used to obtain an estimation of the peak concentration quickly when the emission rate and the ventilation condition of the cleanroom are different than the current study.

A ball-type automatic balancer, which consists of several balls moving on a circular orbit, can effectively reduce the imbalance vibrations of an optical-disk drive. Under proper working conditions, the balls can counter-balance the imbalance of a disk by positioning the appropriate angles relative to the mass center of the disk. These particular positions are referred to as the perfect balancing positions. The proper working conditions depend on the stability of the perfect balancing positions. Much work has been done to determine the stability of the equilibrium positions numerically for some specific values of the system parameters. This paper, in contrast, analytically studies the stability characteristics of the equilibrium positions under several conditions. A theoretical model of an optical-disk drive packed with a two-ball automatic balancer is constructed first. The governing equations of the theoretical model are derived using Lagrange's equations. The closed-form formulae and the existence conditions for the equilibrium positions are presented. Experiments are conducted to verify the theoretical model. The stability of each equilibrium position is determined by Routh's criterion. Finally, general guidelines on the stability of the equilibrium positions are proposed.

High endogenous levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) contribute to hypoxia signaling pathway inhibition following exposure to the potent AhR ligand benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and could alter cellular homeostasis and disease condition. Increasing evidence indicates that AhR might compete with AhR nuclear translocator (ARNT) for complex formation with hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) for transactivation, which could alter several physiological variables. Nuclear receptor coactivator 2 (NcoA2) is a transcription coactivator that regulates transcription factor activation and inhibition of basic helix-loop-helix Per (Period)-ARNT-SIM (single-minded) (bHLH-PAS) family proteins, such as HIF-1α, ARNT, and AhR, through protein-protein interactions. In this study, we demonstrated that both hypoxia and hypoxia-mimic conditions decreased NcoA2 protein expression in HEK293T cells. Hypoxia response element (HRE) and xenobiotic-responsive element (XRE) transactivation also were downregulated with NcoA2 knockdown under hypoxic conditions. In addition, B[a]P significantly decreased NcoA2 protein expression be accompanied with AhR degradation. We next evaluated whether the absence of AhR could affect NcoA2 protein function under hypoxia-mimetic conditions. NcoA2 and HIF-1α nuclear localization decreased in both B[a]P-pretreated and AhR-knockdown HepG2 cells under hypoxia-mimic conditions. Interestingly, NcoA2 overexpression downregulated HRE transactivation by competing with HIF-1α and AhR to form protein complexes with ARNT. Both NcoA2 knockdown and overexpression inhibited endothelial cell tube formation in vitro. We also demonstrated using the in vivo plug assay that NcoA2-regulated vascularization decreased in mice. Taken together, these results revealed a biphasic role of NcoA2 between AhR and hypoxic conditions, thus providing a novel mechanism underlying the cross talk between AhR and hypoxia that affects disease development and progression.

The results of spatial and temporal distribution of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air surrounding the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park (SBIP), Taiwan during February 2001 to November 2001 are presented. The sampling was performed at 13 different sites around the SBIP for 24 hrs once every month, and a total of 130 samples were collected. The effects of geographical and meteorological conditions and production volume of the SBIP on the variation of pollutant’ s concentration were investigated. The spatial distribution shows that a comparatively higher concentration of VOCs was found at the sites, which are in the southwestern part of SBIP, downwind of or close to factories. When the wind velocity was low (i.e. below 2 m/s), the concentration of pollutant tended to increase and became uniformly distributed around the science park. The temporal distribution shows a decrease in ambient concentration of pollutants from February to June 2001, mainly due to the decline in the production volume of the SBIP in this period. During the whole period of investigation, the concentration of most of the compounds (except acetone and IPA) was found to be lower than the factory-surrounding air quality standard of Taiwan, but in some cases it was higher than the AALG (ambient air level goal).

Hypoxia-mediated stress responses are important in tumor progression, especially when tumor growth causes the tumor to become deprived of its blood supply. The oxygen-labile transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) plays a critical role in regulating hypoxia stress-related gene expression and is considered a novel therapeutic target. Lung adenocarcinoma cell lines were exposed to minocycline, followed by incubation at hypoxic condition for 3-6 h. Here, we show that minocycline, a second-generation tetracycline, can induce HIF-1α proteasomal degradation under hypoxia by increasing the expression prolyl hydroxylase-2 and HIF-1α/von Hippel-Lindau protein interaction, thereby overcoming hypoxia-induced HIF-1α stabilization. Neither repression of hypoxia-induced phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway nor inhibition of Hsp90 was required for minocycline-induced HIF-1α degradation. The HIF-1α degradation-enhancing effect of minocycline was evident in both cancerous and primary cells. Minocycline-pretreated, hypoxia-conditioned cells showed a clear reduction in hypoxia response element reporter expression and amelioration of vascular endothelial growth factor C/D (VEGF-C/D), matrix metalloproteinase 2, and glucose transporter 1 expression. By decreasing VEGF secretion of cancerous cells, minocycline could suppress endothelial cell neovasculogenesis. These findings suggest a novel application of minocycline in the treatment of tumor angiogenesis as well as hypoxia-related diseases.

Exploring the continual process of drivers allocating their attention under varying conditions could be vital for preventing motor vehicle crashes. This study aims to model visual behaviors and to estimate the effects of various contributing factors on driver’s vision transitions. A visual attention allocation framework, based on certain contributing attributes related to driving tasks and environmental conditions, has been developed. The associated logit type models for determining driver choices for focal points were successfully formulated and estimated by using naturalistic glance data from the 100-car event database. The results offer insights into driver visual behavior and patterns of visual attention allocation. The three focal points that drivers most frequently rely on and glance at are the forward, left and rear view mirror. The sample drivers were less likely to demonstrate troublesome transition patterns, particularly in mentally demanding situations. Additionally, instead of shifting vision directly between two non-forward focal points, the sample drivers frequently had an intermediate forward glance. Thus, seemingly unrelated paths could be grouped into explanatory patterns of driver attention allocation. Finally, in addition to the vision-transition patterns, the potential pitfalls of such patterns and possible countermeasures to improving safety are illustrated, focusing on situations when drivers are distracted, traveling at high speeds and approaching intersections.

Abstract Appropriate energy storage plays a very important role in a wide range of applications, including frequency regulation of renewable energy sources, peak-shaving of electrical grid, emergency power, and portable power. Metal-air batteries have long been a subject of research since they can be used in many applications, such as small batteries for watches, acoustical devices, and as large batteries for electric vehicles. There is a wide variety of applications for zinc metal as high capacity anodic material in the secondary alkaline batteries due to its high specific energy, good reversibility, environmental friendliness, low equilibrium potential, low cost, and no-toxicity. During battery charging, formation of zinc dendritic deposits in alkaline electrolytes severely decreases the cycle life of zinc rechargeable batteries. Uneven current density distribution, local concentration gradient variation, preferential crystalline growth of zinc causes the formation of dendrites. In order to suppress the dendritic growth, many inorganic additives such as CdO, PbO, Pb3O4, In2O3, and Bi2O3 have been tested. To decrease the hydrogen production potential, organic materials also have been studied, such as, poly vinyl alcohol (PVA), triethanolamine (TEA), ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA), poly-oxye-thylene sorbitan mono-laurate (Tween 20) and tartaric acid. In this study, the electrochemical behavior of zinc deposition in electrolyte with various additives is investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The corrosion behavior of zinc in alkaline solution with different additives is also studied. The morphologies and crystalline structures of various Zn deposits are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. We found that zinc dendrite was eliminated by addition of EDTA and Tween 20. Same components can also improve the stability of zinc in alkaline solution. This work was supported by Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs. Key word: zinc dendrite, corrosion, solution additives

The explosive development of nanotechnology has caused an increase in unintended biohazards in humans and in the ecosystem. Similar to particulate matter, nanoparticles (NPs) are strongly correlated with the increase in incidences of cardiovascular diseases, yet the mechanisms behind this correlation remain unclear. Within the testing concentrations of 0.1-10 μg/ml, which did not cause a marked drop in cell viability, zinc oxide NPs (ZnO-NPs) induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) messenger RNA, and protein expression in both concentration- and time-dependent manner in treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). ZnO-NPs treatment cause the activation of Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1)/cell division control protein 42 homolog (Cdc42) and protein accumulation of mixed lineage kinase 3 (MLK3), followed by c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and transcription factor c-Jun activation. Induction of ICAM-1 and phosphorylation of JNK and c-Jun could be inhibited by either JNK inhibitor SP600125 or Rac guanosine triphosphatase inhibitor NSC23766 pretreatment. In addition, pretreatment with NSC23766 significantly reduced MLK3 accumulation, suggesting the involvement of Rac1/Cdc42-MLK3-JNK-c-Jun signaling in the regulation of ZnO-NPs-induced ICAM-1 expression, whereas these signaling factors were not activated in zinc oxide microparticles (ZnO-MPs)-treated HUVECs. The increase of ICAM-1 expression on ZnO-NPs-treated HUVECs enables leukocytes to adhere and has been identified as an indicator of vascular inflammation. Our data are essential for safety evaluation of the clinical usage of ZnO-NPs in daily supplements, cosmetics, and biomedicines.

Understanding tissue biodistribution and clearance of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) is necessary for its risk assessment. Both fed and intraperitoneally injected ZnO-NPs (2.5 g/kg) were absorbed into circulation (within 30 min post-dosing), then biodistributed to the liver, spleen, and kidney. Intraperitoneally injected ZnO-NPs remained in serum for 72 h and could more effectively spread to the heart, lung, and testes, whereas the clearance for fed ZnO-NPs in serum began 6 h after oral administration. Compared with zinc oxide microparticles (ZnO-MPs), ZnO-NPs exhibited much higher absorptivity and tissue biodistribution in fed treatment. A greater fraction of fed ZnO-NPs localised in the liver resulted in transient histopathological lesions. However, superoxide generation and cytotoxicity were showed in vitro treatment with ZnO-NPs (above 20 μg/mL). Considering both in vitro and in vivo data, the ZnO-NPs induced acute liver toxicity which was in compliance with its absorption, biodistribution, and clearance.

Epidemiological studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between atherosclerosis and ambient air pollution. In this study, we found that motorcycle exhaust particles (MEP) induced adhesion between cells of the human monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a time-and dose-dependent manner. In addition, MEP treatment induced both mRNA and protein expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in HUVECs. The IκB degradation and p65 nuclear translocation was found in MEP-treated HUVECs, suggested the involvement of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). MEP-induced VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 protein expression was inhibited by NF-κB inhibitor BAY 11-7085. Oxidative stress was also involved in the signaling of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 expression. MEP treatment caused hydrogen peroxide and superoxide formation. Pretreatment with α-tocopherol could inhibit MEP-induced reactive oxygen intermediates generation and suppressed MEP-induced IκB degradation and adhesion molecules expression. Furthermore, the carbon black (CB) nanoparticles with different diameters could induce VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 protein expression; however, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) only increased the expression of ICAM-1 but not that of VCAM-1 in HUVECs. In this study, we found that MEPs could induce ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression through oxidative stress and NF-κB activation in HUVECs.

Young motorcyclists have traditionally been considered a high-risk population. Given the critical influence of riders' behaviors on traffic safety, identifying what riders think can help clarify the nature of accidents. Although psychological studies have explored the relationships among personality traits, attitudes and risky driving behavior, the primary difference this study makes from past studies is incorporating both positive and negative effects in a refined causal framework. This study adopts structural equation modeling to analyze data collected from 683 young motorcyclists aged between 18 and 28. The results conclude three primary personality traits of young motorcyclists, namely sensation seeking, amiability and impatience. While amiable riders represent a group of relatively mature and safe riders, the sensation-seeking riders are extremely self-confident, comfortable with unsafe riding and interested in the utility gained from it. Meanwhile, the sensation-seeking ones also are highly aware of traffic conditions, which may lower the chances of getting into an accident, but the accident could be extremely severe if it ever occurs. Impatient riders, having low riding confidence and traffic awareness deficiency, also seek utility from certain risky riding behaviors. However, their fear of an accident leads them to fail to observe surrounding traffic conditions. The result indicates various mental compromise mechanisms for young motorcyclists in conducting riding behaviors. Thus, corresponding countermeasures, including licensure system and ITS roadway development, should consider the heterogeneous characteristics of young riders.

The aim of the study was to determine whether brazilin exhibits any anti-inflammatory effects that inhibit T helper cell type II (TH2) responses and whether it suppresses allergic inflammation reactions in a murine model of asthma. We found that brazilin inhibited phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) + cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-induced IL-4 and IL-5 expression in EL-4 T cells with respect to both RNA and protein levels in a dose-dependent manner. After intratracheal instillation of brazilin in ovalbumin (OVA)-immunized mice, we found that brazilin-treated mice exhibited decreases in the release of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, eotaxin, and TNF-α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), inhibited TH2 functioning by a decrease in IL-4 production, and the attenuation of the OVA-induced lung eosinophilia, and airway hyperresponsiveness and remodeling. These results suggest that brazilin exhibits an anti-TH2 reaction both in vitro and in vivo. Brazilin as demonstrates therapeutic potential for allergic diseases.