A compilation of known QSOs for the Gaia mission

Quasars are essential for astrometric in the sense that they are spatial stationary because of their large distance from the Sun. The European Space Agency (ESA) space astrometric satellite Gaia is scanning the whole sky with unprecedented accuracy up to a few muas level. However, Gaia's two fields of view observations strategy may introduce a parallax bias in the Gaia catalog. Since it presents no significant parallax, quasar is perfect nature object to detect such bias. More importantly, quasars can be used to construct a Celestial Reference Frame in the optical wavelengths in Gaia mission. In this paper, we compile the most reliable quasars existing in literatures. The final compilation (designated as Known Quasars Catalog for Gaia mission, KQCG) contains 1843850 objects, among of them, 797632 objects are found in Gaia DR1 after cross-identifications. This catalog will be very useful in Gaia mission

Investigation of ultra-thin Al₂O₃ film as Cu diffusion barrier on low-k (k=2.5) dielectrics

Ultrathin Al(2)O(3) films were deposited by PEALD as Cu diffusion barrier on low-k (k=2.5) material. The thermal stability and electrical properties of the Cu/low k system with Al(2)O(3) layers with different thickness were studied after annealing. The AES, TEM and EDX results revealed that the ultrathin Al(2)O(3) films are thermally stable and have excellent Cu diffusion barrier performance. The electrical measurements of dielectric breakdown and TDDB tests further confirmed that the ultrathin Al(2)O(3) film is a potential Cu diffusion barrier in the Cu/low-k interconnects system

2-Meth­oxy-4-[(4-methyl­piperazin-1-yl)imino­meth­yl]phenol

The title compound, C13H19N3O2, was obtained by the direct solvent-free reaction of 4-hy­droxy-3-meth­oxy­benzaldehyde with 1-amino-4-methyl­piperazine. The piperazine ring adopts a chair conformation. In the crystal, strong inter­molecular O—H⋯N and weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds help to establish the packing

Early multifocal electroretinography findings after intravitreal Conbercept in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration

AIM: To evaluate the early changes of retinal function in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration(ARMD)after intravitreal Conbercept treatment by multifocal electroretinography(mfERG). METHODS: Wet ARMD patients diagnosed by fundus fluorescein angiography and received intravitreal injection of Conbercept(0.05mL/0.5mg)were included. Best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), incubation of N1, P1 and amplitude of P1 in mfERG test were recorded before and 1mo after treatment. RESULTS: Twenty patients(20 eyes)were enrolled in total. The mean BCVA was 0.80±0.48 LogMAR at baseline and improved to 0.65±0.50 LogMAR after treatment(P2 to 53.81±20.41nV/deg2(P=0.006). The change in visual acuity was positively correlated with the change in P1 amplitude density of Ring 1(r=-0.776, PCONCLUSION: Intravitreal conbercept injection can improve the central retinal function of wet ARMD patients in the short term

microRNA-223 Deficiency Exacerbates Acute Inflammatory Response to Monosodium Urate Crystals by Targeting NLRP3

Objective: MicroRNAs were identified as master-switch molecules limiting acute inflammatory response. This study investigated the potential role of microRNA (miR)-223 in the mechanism of gout. Methods: Wild-type (WT) and miR-223 knock-out (KO) mice were used to evaluate the phenotypes of gout models. Inflammatory cytokines were measured in air pouch and peritoneal cavity lavage fluid. In addition to miR-223 level in gout patients, miR-223 and pro-inflammatory genes were examined in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from mice as well as peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy controls (HC) treated with monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in vitro. Results: MiR-223 was up-regulated in the early phase in BMDMs from WT mice after MSU challenge and decreased rapidly, and this was not observed in miR-223 KO mice in vitro. In addition, miR-223 was required for macrophages homeostasis. In comparison with WT mice in vivo, miR-223 deficiency exacerbated swelling index of MSU-induced inflammation in foot pad and ankle joint models. MiR-223 deficiency also markedly aggravated inflammatory cells infiltration and cytokines release including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in the air pouch and peritonitis models. In the in vitro experiments, miR-223 deficiency promoted the inflammatory response by targeting NLR family pyrin domain containing protein 3 (NLRP3). Besides, miR-223 level was down-regulated in gout patients and in HC exposed to MSU in vitro. Conclusion: MiR-223 was down-regulated in gout patients and miR-223 deficiency exacerbated inflammatory response in diverse murine models, suggesting that up-regulation of miR-223 could be a potential therapeutic strategy for alleviating gouty inflammation