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<p>Cell scratch test and Transwell were used to measure the migration abilities of HSVSMCs. NC = Negative control group, only control siRNA transfected; GAS5(-) = lncRNA-GAS5 knockdown group transfected with silence siRNA. <b>A:</b>Cell scratch test was used to measure the migration abilities of HSVSMCs. The results showed that the HSVSMCs have the best migration abilities in the first 24 hours. Values are mean±SE, N = 4. <b>B:</b> The migration abilities of HSVSMCs measured by Transwell. After transfected by lncRNA-GAS5 siRNA for 48 hours, the HSVSMCs were passage into the Transwell Inserts. Then 4 hours, 7 hours, 10 hours later, the migration HSVSMCs were photographed and counted, respectively. Knockdown of lncRNA-GAS5 expression promotes migration of HSVSMCs. Optical microscope images under 200x magnification. <b>C:</b> The migration abilities of HSVSMCs were reflected indirectly by the new migration cells counting with Transwell. Silencing of lncRNA-GAS5 expression increses migration ability of HSVSMCs. Values are mean±SE, N = 10; *, P<0.05.</p

Electrical properties and device applications of InAlP native oxide/GaAs MOS structures

The native oxide of InAlP has been investigated for its electrical properties and usefulness in high-performance electronic devices. InAlP native oxide/GaAs MOS capacitors have been fabricated for use as diagnostic devices, and the electrical properties of InAlP native oxide/GaAs MOS structures have been determined from electrical measurements of these devices. Leakage current measurements suggest that the InAlP oxide has good insulating properties for oxide layers as thin as 11 nm. Capacitance-voltage measurements and impedance spectroscopy indicate that the InAlP oxide/GaAs MOS structure has a relatively low interface state density of 8*10^11cm^-2. This density of interface states is sufficiently low to suggest field-effect transistors using InAlP native oxide as the gate insulator should be possible. Field-effect transistors using InAlP native oxide/GaAs structures have also been explored, resulting in the first demonstration of GaAs MOSFETs using InAlP oxide as the gate dielectric. Two different fabrication procedures for GaAs-based MOSFETs have been developed. One uses the mesa isolation technique, and the other uses oxygen ion implantation and regional oxidation techniques. Both the DC and RF characteristics of fabricated MOSFETs have been evaluated. For mesa-isolated MOSFETs, a 2 um gate length device showed a 63.8 mS/mm peak intrinsic transconductance, and for implant isolated MOSFETs, a 1 um gate length device showed a 105 mS/mm peak intrinsic transconductance and 2.53 GHz cut-off frequency. The measured MOSFET performance has been compared to theoretical expectations based on simplified, idealized device models. The measured DC characteristics of fabricated InAlP oxide/GaAs MOSFETs fall below the theoretical predictions in terms of drain current and transconductance, while the measured RF results show that the devices have lower cut-off frequencies than expected from simple theoretical models. Van der Pauw measurements have been performed on the heterostructures, and measurement results suggest the oxidation conditions, including time and temperature, cause degradation of the GaAs channel material properties. In particular, the channel mobility and carrier concentration are observed to decrease following oxidation of the InAlP layer in the MOSFET heterostructure. This degradation appears to be related to material growth and oxidation conditions, and may be improved by optimizing the heterostructure growth and processing conditions

Linking ethical leadership to employee voice and employee silence: investigations of causality and underlying mechanisms

Encouraging employees to ‘voice’ their opinions and ideas is an essential way for organizations to survive and develop in a dynamic and competitive business world. Ethical leadership, a form of leadership in which organizational leaders demonstrate conduct for the common good that is acceptable and appropriate in every area of their life, has been theoretically and empirically demonstrated to be one of the key antecedent variables that are able to promote employee voice and reduce employee silence. However, given ethical leadership theory is relatively new and the motives of employee voice and employee silence are somewhat complicated, the causual relationships and the underlying mechanisms among these variables are not yet well known. This thesis aims to address a number of these shortcomings via three empirical studies outlined below: Study 1 tested the causal relationship of ethical leadership on employee voice, and employee silence as well as the effects of cognitive construal and cultural difference on the causalities through a 2 (leader types: ethical leader vs. unethical leader) × 2 (cognitive construal: high-level construal vs. low-level construal) × 2 (cultural background: Chinese participants vs. Australian participants) between-subjects designed experimental study.The findings not only support the view that ethical leadership has a direct influence on employee voice and employee silence, but also emphasize the importance of employees’ individual differences in terms of cognition and culture in influencing the ethical leadership process. Study 2 taking perspectives of conservation of resource theory investigated how ethical leadership exerts influences on the “resource conservation” and “resource acquisition” motives of employees’ use of voice at multi-levels (i.e. individual level and team level) simultaneously. Specifically, study 2 established a two-stage pathway in which the direct effect of ethical leadership on employees’ job burnout and the mediating roles of instrumental ethical climate and employee resilience were tested at the first stage. And, at the second stage the direct effects of job burnout on employee voice and employee silence as well as the moderating role of ethical leadership on such linkages were tested. The findings support the complicated stress-coping motives of employees’ use of voice and indicate that ethical leadership is able to influence how employees balance their resource conservation and acquisition motives of speaking up. Additionally, these findings also provide empirical support for the notion that studies on leadership should deliberately differentiate individual and team levels of analysis. Study 3 drawing from identity-relevant theories investigated the identity-based mechanisms underlying ethical leadership and employee voice, employee silence. Specifically, study 3 tested the mediating role of moral identity centrality and organizational identity in the ethical leadership, employee voice, and employee silence linkages. Additionally, the study tested the moderating effect of self-construal on the direct and indirect relationships between ethical leadership, employee voice, and employee silence. This study enriches our understanding of how ethical leadership facilitates employee communicative behaviors with regard to self-relevant motives and highlight the role of employees’ individual differences in terms of culture in the target relationships, providing both theoretical and practical implications for future research and management practice. Through three empirical studies this thesis aims to illustrate the causal and influence mechanisms between ethical leadership, employee voice and employee silence. The results of these studies will contribute to the literature as well as managerial practice by extending the understanding of the dynamics between ethical leadership and employee communicative behaviors

A Novel Microbial Source Tracking Microarray for Pathogen Detection and Fecal Source Identification in Environmental Systems

Pathogen detection and the identification of fecal contamination sources are challenging in environmental waters. Factors including pathogen diversity and ubiquity of fecal indicator bacteria hamper risk assessment and remediation of contamination sources. A custom microarray targeting pathogens (viruses, bacteria, protozoa), microbial source tracking (MST) markers, and antibiotic resistance genes was tested against DNA obtained from whole genome amplification (WGA) of RNA and DNA from sewage and animal (avian, cattle, poultry, and swine) feces. Perfect and mismatch probes established the specificity of the microarray in sewage, and fluorescence decrease of positive probes over a 1:10 dilution series demonstrated semiquantitative measurement. Pathogens, including norovirus, <i>Campylobacter fetus, Helicobacter pylori</i>, <i>Salmonella enterica</i>, and <i>Giardia lamblia</i> were detected in sewage, as well as MST markers and resistance genes to aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, and tetracycline. Sensitivity (percentage true positives) of MST results in sewage and animal waste samples (21–33%) was lower than specificity (83–90%, percentage of true negatives). Next generation DNA sequencing revealed two dominant bacterial families that were common to all sample types: <i>Ruminococcaceae</i> and <i>Lachnospiraceae</i>. Five dominant phyla and 15 dominant families comprised 97% and 74%, respectively, of sequences from all fecal sources. Phyla and families not represented on the microarray are possible candidates for inclusion in subsequent array designs

Controlling centrality of artificial networks.

<p>(a), (b), (c) and (d) denote network with 40, 60, 80 and 100 nodes, respectively. For each of the four networks, we randomly generate an interaction between a pair of nodes with probability 0.002, and repeat it for all the pairs of nodes at a specified time point. repeat this process for 100 rounds at 100 different time points, i.e. . The value of controlling centrality, denoted as 'Calculated', is straightly calculated by the computation of matrix in Eq. (19), and the upper and lower bounds, denoted as 'Upper Bound' and 'Lower Bound', respectively, are given by the analytical results in Eq. (16).</p

Presentation1_Survival nomogram for medulloblastoma and multi-center external validation cohort.pptx

Background: Medulloblastoma (MB) is a highly malignant neuroepithelial tumor occurring in the central nervous system. The objective of this study was to establish an effective prognostic nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) of MB patients.Materials and methods: The nomogram was developed using data from a retrospective cohort of 280 medulloblastoma patients (aged 3–18 years) identified from Beijing Tiantan Hospital between 2016 and 2021 as the training cohort. To validate the performance of the nomogram, collaborations were formed with eight leading pediatric oncology centers across different regions of China. A total of 162 medulloblastoma patients meeting the inclusion criteria were enrolled from these collaborating centers. Cox regression analysis, best subsets regression, and Lasso regression were employed to select independent prognostic factors. The nomogram’s prognostic effectiveness for overall survival was assessed using the concordance index, receiver operating characteristic curve, and calibration curve.Results: In the training cohort, the selected variables through COX regression, best subsets regression, and Lasso regression, along with their clinical significance, included age, molecular subtype, histological type, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, metastasis, and hydrocephalus. The internally and externally validated C-indexes were 0.907 and 0.793, respectively. Calibration curves demonstrated the precise prediction of 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS for MB patients using the nomogram.Conclusion: This study developed a nomogram that incorporates clinical and molecular factors to predict OS prognosis in medulloblastoma patients. The nomogram exhibited improved predictive accuracy compared to previous studies and demonstrated good performance in the external validation cohort. By considering multiple factors, clinicians can utilize this nomogram as a valuable tool for individualized prognosis prediction and treatment decision-making in medulloblastoma patients.</p

DataSheet1_Designed NiMoC@C and NiFeMo2C@C core-shell nanoparticles for oxygen evolution in alkaline media.pdf

Electrochemical water splitting is one of the most promising and clean ways to produce hydrogen as a fuel. Herein, we present a facile and versatile strategy for synthesizing non-precious transition binary and ternary metal-based catalysts encapsulated in a graphitic carbon shell. NiMoC@C and NiFeMo2C@C were prepared via a simple sol-gel based method for application in the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER). The conductive carbon layer surrounding the metals was introduced to improve electron transport throughout the catalyst structure. This multifunctional structure showed synergistic effects, possess a larger number of active sites and enhanced electrochemical durability. Structural analysis indicated that the metallic phases were encapsulated in the graphitic shell. Experimental results demonstrated that the optimal core-shell material NiFeMo2C@C exhibited the best catalytic performance for the OER in 0.5 M KOH, reaching a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at low overpotential of 292 mV for the OER, superior to the benchmark IrO2 nanoparticles. The good performances and stability of these OER electrocatalysts, alongside an easily scalable procedure makes these systems ideal for industrial purposes.</p

Oxyfuel Combustion in IC Engines

This chapter introduces principles, mixing, ignition and combustion and control processes of oxyfuel combustion which is aiming for achieving CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) in IC (Internal Combustion) engines. By replacing air with pure oxygen and using hot and/or cooled EGR as dilutant gas for controlling the combustion process and flame speed, the mixing and combustion process will be explained. Fuel delivery, pre-mixing arrangement between pure oxygen and dilutant gas and their influences on combustion performances will be discussed. HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition), water injection etc. technologies for enhancing the combustion efficiency will be demonstrated in detail. Finally, the emission characteristics and possible implementation of practical engine operation will be described.</p

The sequence of graphs representation of the contacts in Table I.

<p>In each discrete time point, the network has a different formation shown as .</p

Three examples of the homogeneously structured temporal trees.

<p>(a) Independent trees, (b) and (c) Interdependent trees. For the two homogeneously structured trees in (b), there are three same interactions, i.e (B,C,5), (B,D,5) and (B,E,5), but there are only two such interactions, i.e (B,C,5) and (B,D,5), for the trees in (c). The trees in (b) and (c) are both interdependent according to our definition. The numbers in parenthesis denote active time points of interactions and characters denote the weights of interactions.</p