Low-Dimensional ZnO Nanostructures: Fabrication, Optical Properties, and Applications for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Zinc oxide nanostructure has a wide bandgap energy of 3.37 eV and a large exciton binding energy of 60 meV at room temperature. It is certainly a promising material for photonic devices in the ultraviolet to blue wavelength range. ZnO-related materials are also expected to construct the exciton as well as polariton lasers owing to their excitonic-stimulated emission and laser behavior under optically pumping can be obtained at ambient temperature. Because of the optical losses, including not only nonradiative recombination centers but also traps of excitons, the high quality of ZnO becomes even more imperative in the excitonic lasing processes. In the present chapter, ZnO nanowire structures via a low-pressure vapor-phase deposition and a simple solvothermal method will be presented. The one-dimensional ZnO nanowires could afford a direct conduction pathway to significantly enhance the overall efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cells. Furthermore, this content will demonstrate how to employ the hierarchical structure of the ZnO nanoparticles, fabricated from sol-gel method, which could promote light scattering, thus, enhancing photon absorption and the overall solar conversion efficiency. The aim of this chapter is to present the correlation between the fundamental properties of ZnO nanostructures and their photovoltaics performances

Clinical development of liposome-based drugs: formulation, characterization, and therapeutic efficacy

Research on liposome formulations has progressed from that on conventional vesicles to new generation liposomes, such as cationic liposomes, temperature sensitive liposomes, and virosomes, by modulating the formulation techniques and lipid composition. Many research papers focus on the correlation of blood circulation time and drug accumulation in target tissues with physicochemical properties of liposomal formulations, including particle size, membrane lamellarity, surface charge, permeability, encapsulation volume, shelf time, and release rate. This review is mainly to compare the therapeutic effect of current clinically approved liposome-based drugs with free drugs, and to also determine the clinical effect via liposomal variations in lipid composition. Furthermore, the major preclinical and clinical data related to the principal liposomal formulations are also summarized

Regulation of axon repulsion by MAX-1 SUMOylation and AP-3.

During neural development, growing axons express specific surface receptors in response to various environmental guidance cues. These axon guidance receptors are regulated through intracellular trafficking and degradation to enable navigating axons to reach their targets. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the UNC-5 receptor is necessary for dorsal migration of developing motor axons. We previously found that MAX-1 is required for UNC-5-mediated axon repulsion, but its mechanism of action remained unclear. Here, we demonstrate that UNC-5-mediated axon repulsion in C. elegans motor axons requires both max-1 SUMOylation and the AP-3 complex β subunit gene, apb-3 Genetic interaction studies show that max-1 is SUMOylated by gei-17/PIAS1 and acts upstream of apb-3 Biochemical analysis suggests that constitutive interaction of MAX-1 and UNC-5 receptor is weakened by MAX-1 SUMOylation and by the presence of APB-3, a competitive interactor with UNC-5. Overexpression of APB-3 reroutes the trafficking of UNC-5 receptor into the lysosome for protein degradation. In vivo fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments shows that MAX-1 SUMOylation and APB-3 are required for proper trafficking of UNC-5 receptor in the axon. Our results demonstrate that SUMOylation of MAX-1 plays an important role in regulating AP-3-mediated trafficking and degradation of UNC-5 receptors during axon guidance

An easy approach to derive EOQ and EPQ models with shortage and defective items

Huang [Journal of Statistics and Management Systems, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 171-180, 2003.] studied the EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) and EPQ (Economic Production Quantity) models with backlogging and defective items using the algebraic approach. He assumed that a 100% inspection policy and the known proportion of defective items was removed after the screening process prior to storage or use. In this paper, we will offer another simple approach to find both the optimal lot size and backorder level under the minimized total relevant cost per unit time

The Impact of Product innovation on Performance: The Influence of Uncertainty and Managerial Accounting Information Systems

This paper reports on a survey of Taiwanese high-tech firms, using a path analysis to examine the effects of managerial accounting information systems (MAIS) on the relationship between product innovation and organizational performance. Two of the major characteristics suggested by Chenhall and Morris (1986), broad scope and timeliness, are systematically related to the subject matter of this study, thus, employing these two characteristics to explore the connection between MAIS, product innovation and organizational performance. We find that product innovation has a positive effect on organizational performance through the use of MAIS, and find the extent of this positive effect is more significant in business environments marked by high levels of uncertainty. This study provides evidence to understand whether product innovation requires more extensive use of MAIS in highly uncertain environments and whether the use of MAIS can improve organizational performance. The results also help practicing managers realize the importance of MAIS in modern organizations and the benefits of using MAIS to the organization. Finally, we remind managers engaging in product innovation practices that they should place importance on the use of MAIS, because traditional cost control systems no longer help in solving the problems that are specific to the current, modern business environment

Factors Influencing Practitioners’ Experience of Utilizing Open Government Data

Open government data (OGD) has been discussed globally for its value in improving the government’s service quality and transparency. However, most OGD must be utilized by the practitioners in their projects so that the public can benefit from the outcomes and realize the philosophy of OGD. This study investigated 35 practitioners’ experiences utilizing OGD with semi-structured interviews and analyzed transcripts via a qualitative approach based on grounded theory. The results present five factors that influence practitioners’ experiences: data quality, service quality, product quality, experience quality, and feedback quality; moreover, 15 indicators among the above factors were identified. In conclusion, practitioners play a crucial role in turning OGD into valuable products to engage the public in the OGD ecosystem and expand the value of such data. This paper gives specific recommendations to the government to improve the OGD environment from a practical perspective and demonstrates the meanings of practitioners’ contributions to the OGD movement. (Article content in Chinese with English extended abstract