911 research outputs found
Expression, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of N-carbamyl-D-amino-acid amidohydrolase from Agrobacterium radiobacter
The Agrobacterium radiobacter CCRC 14924 N-carbamyl-D-amino-acid amidohydrolase, the enzyme used for production of D-amino acids, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli JM109. The expressed protein was crystallized by vapour diffusion using lithium sulfate as precipitant. It crystallizes in space group P2(1) with unit-cell parameters cr = 69.8, b = 67.9 and c = 137.8 Angstrom and beta = 96.4 degrees. There are four molecules per asymmetric unit. Crystals diffract to 2.8 Angstrom resolution using a rotating-anode source at cryogenic (113 K) temperatures
Characterization study of GaN-based epitaxial layer and light-emitting diode on nature-patterned sapphire substrate
[[abstract]]Chemical wet etching on c-plane sapphire wafers by three etching solutions (H3PO4, H2SO4, and H3PO4/H2SO4 mixing solution) was studied. Among these etching agents, the mixing H3PO4/H2SO4 solution has the fastest etching rate (1.5 μm/min). Interestingly, we found that H2SO4 does not etch the c-plane sapphire wafer in thickness; instead, a facet pyramidal pattern is formed on the c-plane sapphire wafer. GaN light-emitting diode (LED) epitaxial structure was grown on the sapphire wafer with the pyramidal pattern and the standard flat sapphire wafer. X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurement show that the pyramidal pattern on the sapphire wafer improved crystalline quality but augmented the compressive stress level in the GaN LED epilayer. The horizontal LED chips fabricated on the pyramidal-patterned sapphire wafer have a larger light output than the horizontal LED chips fabricated on the standard flat sapphire wafer by 20%.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子
Leaf Extracts of Calocedrus formosana (Florin) Induce G2/M Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Bladder Cancer Cells
Calocedrus formosana (Florin) bark acetone/ethylacetate extracts are known to exert an antitumor effect on some human cancer cell lines, but the mechanism is yet to be defined. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Florin leaf methanol extracts on the growth and apoptosis of human bladder cancer cell lines. MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay showed that the growth of these bladder cancer cells was potently inhibited by the Florin leaf extracts. The cell cycle of these extract-treated cells (TCCSUP cells) was arrested at the G2/M phase as determined by flow cytometry. Western blot analysis revealed the increases of cyclin B1 and Cdc2 kinase levels, alone with the decrease of phosphorylated Cdc2 kinase, after treating these cells with the extracts. An immunofluorescence assessment of β-tubulin showed decreased levels of polymerized tubulin in treated cells. However, the proteolytic cleavage of poly ADP-ribose polymerase and the activation of caspase-3/-8/-9 were all increased upon treatments of extracts. The concurrent increase of Bax and decrease of Bcl-2 levels indicated that the extracts could induce apoptosis in these treated cells. Taken together, these results suggest that the Florin leaf extracts may be an effective antibladder cancer agent
Kahler Moduli Inflation
We show that under general conditions there is at least one natural
inflationary direction for the Kahler moduli of type IIB flux
compactifications. This requires a Calabi-Yau which has h^{2,1}>h^{1,1}>2 and
for which the structure of the scalar potential is as in the recently found
exponentially large volume compactifications. We also need - although these
conditions may be relaxed - at least one Kahler modulus whose only
non-vanishing triple-intersection is with itself and which appears by itself in
the non-perturbative superpotential. Slow-roll inflation then occurs without a
fine tuning of parameters, evading the eta problem of F-term inflation. In
order to obtain COBE-normalised density perturbations, the stabilised volume of
the Calabi-Yau must be O(10^5-10^7) in string units, and the inflationary scale
M_{infl} ~ 10^{13} GeV. We find a robust model independent prediction for the
spectral index of 1 - 2/N_e = 0.960 - 0.967, depending on the number of
efoldings.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure; v2. references adde
Simulation of Flow of Mixtures Through Anisotropic Porous Media using a Lattice Boltzmann Model
We propose a description for transient penetration simulations of miscible
and immiscible fluid mixtures into anisotropic porous media, using the lattice
Boltzmann (LB) method. Our model incorporates hydrodynamic flow, diffusion,
surface tension, and the possibility for global and local viscosity variations
to consider various types of hardening fluids. The miscible mixture consists of
two fluids, one governed by the hydrodynamic equations and one by diffusion
equations. We validate our model on standard problems like Poiseuille flow, the
collision of a drop with an impermeable, hydrophobic interface and the
deformation of the fluid due to surface tension forces. To demonstrate the
applicability to complex geometries, we simulate the invasion process of
mixtures into wood spruce samples.Comment: Submitted to EPJ
An Inflationary Model in String Theory
We construct a model of inflation in string theory after carefully taking
into account moduli stabilization. The setting is a warped compactification of
Type IIB string theory in the presence of D3 and anti-D3-branes. The inflaton
is the position of a D3-brane in the internal space. By suitably adjusting
fluxes and the location of symmetrically placed anti-D3-branes, we show that at
a point of enhanced symmetry, the inflaton potential V can have a broad
maximum, satisfying the condition V''/V << 1 in Planck units. On starting close
to the top of this potential the slow-roll conditions can be met. Observational
constraints impose significant restrictions. As a first pass we show that these
can be satisfied and determine the important scales in the compactification to
within an order of magnitude. One robust feature is that the scale of inflation
is low, H = O(10^{10}) GeV. Removing the observational constraints makes it
much easier to construct a slow-roll inflationary model. Generalizations and
consequences including the possibility of eternal inflation are also discussed.
A more careful study, including explicit constructions of the model in string
theory, is left for the future.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX, 1 eps figure. v2: references adde
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Report on Toyota/Prius Motor Torque Capability, Torque Property, No-Load Back EMF, and Mechanical Losses, Revised May 2007
In today's hybrid vehicle market, the Toyota/Prius drive system is currently considered the leader in electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing innovations. It is significant that in today's marketplace, Toyota is able to manufacture and sell the vehicle for a profit. This project's objective is to test the torque capability of the 2004 Prius motor and to analyze the torque properties relating to the rotor structure. The tested values of no-load back electromotive force (emf) and mechanical losses are also presented
Staggered flux and stripes in doped antiferromagnets
We have numerically investigated whether or not a mean-field theory of spin
textures generate fictitious flux in the doped two dimensional -model.
First we consider the properties of uniform systems and then we extend the
investigation to include models of striped phases where a fictitious flux is
generated in the domain wall providing a possible source for lowering the
kinetic energy of the holes. We have compared the energetics of uniform systems
with stripes directed along the (10)- and (11)-directions of the lattice,
finding that phase-separation generically turns out to be energetically
favorable. In addition to the numerical calculations, we present topological
arguments relating flux and staggered flux to geometric properties of the spin
texture. The calculation is based on a projection of the electron operators of
the model into a spin texture with spinless fermions.Comment: RevTex, 19 pages including 20 figure
Urban-rural disparity of preventive healthcare utilisation among children under the universal health insurance coverage in Taiwan: a national birth cohort analysis
Objective: In the context of universal health insurance coverage, this study aimed to determine whether urbanerural inequality still exists in preventive health care (PHC) amongst children in Taiwan. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: A total of 184,117 mothers and their children born in 2009 were identified as the study cohort. The number of children born in urban, satellite and rural areas was 40,176, 57,565 and 86,805, respec-tively. All children were followed for 7 years, before which a total of seven times PHC were provided by Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) programme. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to associate urbanisation level with the frequency of PHC utilisation. Stratified analyses were further per-formed in accordance with the children's birth weight and the mothers' birthplace. Results: Children from satellite areas had higher utilisation for the first four scheduled PHC visits. Children living in urban areas received more PHC for the fifth and sixth scheduled visits. Compared with those from rural areas, children in satellite areas exhibited a small but significant increase in odds in PHC utilisation, with a covariate-adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 1.04 and 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.02 e1.06. By contrast, no significant difference was observed between rural and urban areas (aOR ¼ 1.01). Further stratified analyses suggest more evident urbanerural difference in PHC utilisation amongst children with low birth weight and foreign-born mothers. Conclusions: Given a universal health insurance coverage and embedded mechanisms in increasing the availability of healthcare resources in Taiwan, a slight urbanerural difference is observed in PHC uti-lisation amongst children. Hence, sociodemographic inequality in utilisation of PHC still exists. This issue should be addressed through policy intervention
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