Myopic Versus Farsighted Behaviors in a Low-Carbon Supply Chain with Reference Emission Effects

The increased carbon emissions cause relatively climate deterioration and attract more attention of governments, consumers, and enterprises to the low-carbon manufacturing. This paper considers a dynamic supply chain, which is composed of a manufacturer and a retailer, in the presence of the cap-and-trade regulation and the consumers’ reference emission effects. To investigate the manufacturer’s behavior choice and its impacts on the emission reduction and pricing strategies together with the profits of both the channel members, we develop a Stackelberg differential game model in which the manufacturer acts in both myopic and farsighted manners. By comparing the equilibrium strategies, it can be found that the farsighted manufacturer always prefers to keep a lower level of emission reduction. When the emission permit price is relatively high, the wholesale/retail price is lower if the manufacturer is myopic and hence benefits consumers. In addition, there exists a dilemma that the manufacturer is willing to act in a farsighted manner but the retailer looks forward to a partnership with the myopic manufacturer. For a relatively high price of emission permit, adopting myopic strategies results in a better performance of the whole supply chain

Exploring transcriptional signalling mediated by OsWRKY13, a potential regulator of multiple physiological processes in rice

BACKGROUND Rice transcription regulator OsWRKY13 influences the functioning of more than 500 genes in multiple signalling pathways, with roles in disease resistance, redox homeostasis, abiotic stress responses, and development. RESULTS To determine the putative transcriptional regulation mechanism of OsWRKY13, the putative cis-acting elements of OsWRKY13-influenced genes were analyzed using the whole genome expression profiling of OsWRKY13-activated plants generated with the Affymetrix GeneChip Rice Genome Array. At least 39 transcription factor genes were influenced by OsWRKY13, and 30 of them were downregulated. The promoters of OsWRKY13-upregulated genes were overrepresented with W-boxes for WRKY protein binding, whereas the promoters of OsWRKY13-downregulated genes were enriched with cis-elements putatively for binding of MYB and AP2/EREBP types of transcription factors. Consistent with the distinctive distribution of these cis-elements in up- and downregulated genes, nine WRKY genes were influenced by OsWRKY13 and the promoters of five of them were bound by OsWRKY13 in vitro; all seven differentially expressed AP2/EREBP genes and six of the seven differentially expressed MYB genes were suppressed by in OsWRKY13-activated plants. A subset of OsWRKY13-influenced WRKY genes were involved in host-pathogen interactions. CONCLUSION These results suggest that OsWRKY13-mediated signalling pathways are partitioned by different transcription factors. WRKY proteins may play important roles in the monitoring of OsWRKY13-upregulated genes and genes involved in pathogen-induced defence responses, whereas MYB and AP2/EREBP proteins may contribute most to the control of OsWRKY13-downregulated genes.This work was supported by grants from the National Program of High Technology Development of China, the National Program on the Development of Basic Research in China, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China

Network-Based Gene Expression Biomarkers for Cold and Heat Patterns of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) can be classified into two main patterns: cold-pattern and heat-pattern. This paper identified the network-based gene expression biomarkers for both cold- and heat-patterns of RA. Gene expression profilings of CD4+ T cells from cold-pattern RA patients, heat-pattern RA patients, and healthy volunteers were obtained using microarray. The differentially expressed genes and related networks were explored using DAVID, GeneSpring software, and the protein-protein interactions (PPI) method. EIF4A2, CCNT1, and IL7R, which were related to the up-regulation of cell proliferation and the Jak-STAT cascade, were significant gene biomarkers of the TCM cold pattern of RA. PRKAA1, HSPA8, and LSM6, which were related to fatty acid metabolism and the I-κB kinase/NF-κB cascade, were significant biomarkers of the TCM heat-pattern of RA. The network-based gene expression biomarkers for the TCM cold- and heat-patterns may be helpful for the further stratification of RA patients when deciding on interventions or clinical trials

Exploring transcriptional signalling mediated by OsWRKY13, a potential regulator of multiple physiological processes in rice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rice transcription regulator OsWRKY13 influences the functioning of more than 500 genes in multiple signalling pathways, with roles in disease resistance, redox homeostasis, abiotic stress responses, and development.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To determine the putative transcriptional regulation mechanism of OsWRKY13, the putative <it>cis</it>-acting elements of OsWRKY13-influenced genes were analyzed using the whole genome expression profiling of <it>OsWRKY13</it>-activated plants generated with the Affymetrix GeneChip Rice Genome Array. At least 39 transcription factor genes were influenced by OsWRKY13, and 30 of them were downregulated. The promoters of OsWRKY13-upregulated genes were overrepresented with W-boxes for WRKY protein binding, whereas the promoters of OsWRKY13-downregulated genes were enriched with <it>cis</it>-elements putatively for binding of MYB and AP2/EREBP types of transcription factors. Consistent with the distinctive distribution of these <it>cis</it>-elements in up- and downregulated genes, nine WRKY genes were influenced by OsWRKY13 and the promoters of five of them were bound by OsWRKY13 <it>in vitro</it>; all seven differentially expressed AP2/EREBP genes and six of the seven differentially expressed MYB genes were suppressed by in <it>OsWRKY13</it>-activated plants. A subset of OsWRKY13-influenced WRKY genes were involved in host-pathogen interactions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that OsWRKY13-mediated signalling pathways are partitioned by different transcription factors. WRKY proteins may play important roles in the monitoring of OsWRKY13-upregulated genes and genes involved in pathogen-induced defence responses, whereas MYB and AP2/EREBP proteins may contribute most to the control of OsWRKY13-downregulated genes.</p

Laser-induced incandescence particle image velocimetry (LII-PIV) for two-phase flow velocity measurement

We demonstrate the use of laser-induced incandescence (LII) of submicron tungsten carbide (WC) particles as a method for particle image velocimetry (PIV). The technique allows a single laser to be used for separate measurements of velocity of two phases in a droplet-laden flow. Submicron WC particles are intentionally seeded into a two-phase flow, and heated by a light sheet generated by a double-pulsed PIV laser operating at sufficiently high pulse energy. The small size and large absorption cross section allows particles to be heated up to several thousand degrees Kelvin to emit strong incandescence signals, whilst the laser-induced temperature increase in liquid droplets/large particles is negligible. The incandescence signal from WC and Mie scattering from droplets/large particles are separately captured by deploying different filters to a PIV camera. The consecutive images of the laser-induced incandescence (LII) are used to determine the velocity field of the gas-phase flow, and those of Mie scatter are used to extract the velocity of droplets/large particles. The proposed technique is demonstrated in an air jet first and compared with the result given by a normal PIV test, which shows that submicron WC particles can accurately follow the gas flow, and that the LII images can be used to perform cross-correlations. We then apply this technique on an ethanol droplet/air jet (non-reacting), demonstrating the resulting slip velocity between two phases. The proposed technique combining PIV and LII with a single laser requires little additional equipment, and is applicable to a much higher droplet/particle density than previously feasible. Finally, the possibility of applying this technique to a flame is demonstrated and discussed

New Broad-Spectrum Viral Fusion Inhibitors Act by Deleterious Effect on the Viral Membrane through the Production Singlet Oxygen Molecules

Chitosan oligosaccharides (COS), the degraded products of chitosan, have been demonstrated to have versatile biological functions. In primary studies, it has displayed significant adjuvant effects when mixed with other vaccines. In this study, chitosan oligosaccharides with different deacetylation degrees were prepared and conjugated to porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) subunit vaccine to enhance its immunogenicity. The vaccine conjugates were designed by the covalent linkage of COSs to PCV2 molecules and administered to BALB/c mice three times at two-week intervals. The results indicate that, as compared to the PCV2 group, COS-PCV2 conjugates remarkably enhanced both humoral and cellular immunity against PCV2 by promoting lymphocyte proliferation and initiating a mixed T-helper 1 (Th1)/T-helper 2 (Th2) response, including raised levels of PCV2-specific antibodies and an increased production of inflammatory cytokines. Noticeably, with the increasing deacetylation degree, the stronger immune responses to PCV2 were observed in the groups with COS-PCV2 vaccination. In comparison with NACOS (chitin oligosaccharides)-PCV2 and LCOS (chitosan oligosaccharides with low deacetylation degree)-PCV2, HCOS (chitosan oligosaccharides with high deacetylation degree)-PCV2 showed the highest adjuvant effect, even comparable to that of PCV2/ISA206 (a commercialized adjuvant) group. In summary, COS conjugation might be a viable strategy to enhance the immune response to PCV2 subunit vaccine, and the adjuvant effect was positively correlated with the deacetylation degree of COS.</p

LEDミニライダーによる近距離大気の可視化

<p>Numbers of blood vessel points vs. time with different <i>p</i>_<i>c</i>.</p

Traditional Chinese Medicine Zheng in the Era of Evidence-Based Medicine: A Literature Analysis

Zheng, which is also called a syndrome or pattern, is the basic unit and a key concept of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory. Zheng can be considered a further stratification of patients when it is integrated with biomedical diagnoses in clinical practice to achieve higher efficacies. In an era of evidence-based medicine, confronted with the vast and increasing volume of TCM data, there is an urgent need to explore these resources effectively using techniques of knowledge discovery in databases. The application of effective data mining in the analysis of multiple extensively integrated databases can supply new information about TCM Zheng research. In this paper, we screened the published literature on TCM Zheng-related studies in the SinoMed and PubMed databases with a novel data mining approach to obtain an overview of the Zheng research landscape in the hope of contributing to a better understanding of TCM Zheng in the era of evidence-based medicine. In our results, contrast was found in Zheng in different studies, and several determinants of Zheng were identified. The data described in this paper can be used to assess Zheng research studies based on the title and certain characteristics of the abstract. These findings will benefit modern TCM Zheng-related studies and guide future Zheng study efforts

Current understanding and applications of the cold sintering process

In traditional ceramic processing techniques, high sintering temperature is necessary to achieve fully dense microstructures. But it can cause various problems including warpage, overfiring, element evaporation, and polymorphic transformation. To overcome these drawbacks, a novel processing technique called “cold sintering process (CSP)” has been explored by Randall et al. CSP enables densification of ceramics at ultra-low temperature (≤ 300 °C) with the assistance of transient aqueous solution and applied pressure. In CSP, the processing conditions including aqueous solution, pressure, temperature, and sintering duration play critical roles in the densification and properties of ceramics, which will be reviewed. The review will also include the applications of CSP in solid-state rechargeable batteries. Finally, the perspectives about CSP is proposed

Functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex in depression and in health

The first voxel-level resting-state functional connectivity (FC) neuroimaging analysis of depression of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) showed in 282 patients with major depressive disorder compared with 254 controls, some higher, and some lower FCs. However, in 125 unmedicated patients, primarily increases of FC were found: of the subcallosal anterior cingulate with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, of the pregenual/supracallosal anterior cingulate with the medial orbitofrontal cortex, and of parts of the anterior cingulate with the inferior frontal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, and with early cortical visual areas. In the 157 medicated patients, these and other FCs were lower than in the unmedicated group. Parcellation was performed based on the FC of individual ACC voxels in healthy controls. A pregenual subdivision had high FC with medial orbitofrontal cortex areas, and a supracallosal subdivision had high FC with lateral orbitofrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus. The high FC in depression between the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the subcallosal parts of the ACC provides a mechanism for more non-reward information transmission to the ACC, contributing to depression. The high FC between the medial orbitofrontal cortex and supracallosal ACC in depression may also contribute to depressive symptoms