Performance characteristics of polymer photovoltaic solar cells with an additive-incorporated active layer

We have investigated the performance characteristics of bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells based on poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester by adding 1,8-octanedithiol as a processing agent in an active layer. The effects of the additive, 1,8-octanedithiol, on the device performance parameter characteristics have been discussed. The current density-voltage measurements, UV-Vis absorption spectra, X-ray diffraction spectra, and scanning probe microscope images have been used to discuss the performance characteristics of polymer solar cells

Roles of Oncogenic Long Non-coding RNAs in Cancer Development

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are classified as RNAs that are longer than 200 nucleotides and cannot be translated into protein. Several studies have demonstrated that lncRNAs are directly or indirectly involved in a variety of biological processes and in the regulation of gene expression. In addition, lncRNAs have important roles in many diseases including cancer. It has been shown that abnormal expression of lncRNAs is observed in several human solid tumors. Several studies have shown that many lncRNAs can function as oncogenes in cancer development through the induction of cell cycle progression, cell proliferation and invasion, anti-apoptosis, and metastasis. Oncogenic lncRNAs have the potential to become promising biomarkers and might be potent prognostic targets in cancer therapy. However, the biological and molecular mechanisms of lncRNA involvement in tumorigenesis have not yet been fully elucidated. This review summarizes studies on the regulatory and functional roles of oncogenic lncRNAs in the development and progression of various types of cancer

Round-Trip System Available to Measure Path Length Variation in Korea VLBI System for Geodesy

The construction project of Korea Geodetic VLBI officially started in October 2008. The construction of all systems will be completed by the end of 2011. The project was named Korea VLBI system for Geodesy (KVG), and its main purpose is to maintain the Korea Geodetic Datum. In case of the KVG system, an observation room with an H-maser frequency standard is located in a building separated from the antenna by several tens of meters. Therefore KVG system will adopt a so-called round-trip system to transmit reference signals to the antenna with reduction of the effect of path length variations. KVG s round-trip system is designed not only to use either metal or optical fiber cables, but also to measure path length variations directly. We present this unique round trip system for KVG

ePRO-MP: A tool for profiling and optimizing energy and performance of mobile multiprocessor applications

Abstract. For mobile multiprocessor applications, achieving high performance with low energy consumption is a challenging task. In order to help programmers to meet these design requirements, system development tools play an important role. In this paper, we describe one such development tool, ePRO-MP, which profiles and optimizes both performance and energy consumption of multi-threaded applications running on top of Linux for ARM11 MPCore-based embedded systems. One of the key features of ePRO-MP is that it can accurately estimate the energy consumption of multi-threaded applications without requiring a power measurement equipment, using a regression-based energy model. We also describe another key benefit of ePRO-MP, an automatic optimization function, using two example problems. Using the automatic optimization function, ePRO-MP can achieve high performance and low power consumption without programmer intervention. Our experimental results show that ePRO-MP can improve the performance and energy consumption by 6.1% and 4.1%, respectively, over a baseline version for the co-running applications optimization example. For the producer-consumer application optimization example, ePRO-MP improves the performance and energy consumption by 60.5% and 43.3%, respectively over a baseline version

The State and Development Direction of the Geodetic VLBI Station in Korea

A permanent geodetic VLBI station with a 22-m diameter antenna will be newly constructed in Korea by the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) under the project Korea VLBI system for Geodesy (KVG) that aims at maintaining the Korean geodetic datum accurately on the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). KVG can receive 2, 8, 22, and 43 GHz bands simultaneously in order to conduct geodetic and astronomical VLBI observations with Korea astronomical VLBI stations along with geodetic observations with IVS stations. This simultaneous four-band receiving capability is a unique feature of the KVG system. The KVG has started officially in October 2008. A new geodetic VLBI station will be constructed at Sejong city (about 120 km south of Seoul and about 20 km north-northwest of Daejeon) and construction of all systems will be completed in 2011

L-Type Ca2+ Channel Inhibition Rescues the LPS-Induced Neuroinflammatory Response and Impairments in Spatial Memory and Dendritic Spine Formation

Ca2+ signaling is implicated in the transition between microglial surveillance and activation. Several L-type Ca2+ channel blockers (CCBs) have been shown to ameliorate neuroinflammation by modulating microglial activity. In this study, we examined the effects of the L-type CCB felodipine on LPS-mediated proinflammatory responses. We found that felodipine treatment significantly diminished LPS-evoked proinflammatory cytokine levels in BV2 microglial cells in an L-type Ca2+ channel-dependent manner. In addition, felodipine leads to the inhibition of TLR4/AKT/STAT3 signaling in BV2 microglial cells. We further examined the effects of felodipine on LPS-stimulated neuroinflammation in vivo and found that daily administration (3 or 7 days, i.p.) significantly reduced LPS-mediated gliosis and COX-2 and IL-1?? levels in C57BL/6 (wild-type) mice. Moreover, felodipine administration significantly reduced chronic neuroinflammation-induced spatial memory impairment, dendritic spine number, and microgliosis in C57BL/6 mice. Taken together, our results suggest that the L-type CCB felodipine could be repurposed for the treatment of neuroinflammation/cognitive function-associated diseases

Autophagy deficiency leads to protection from obesity and insulin resistance by inducing Fgf21 as a mitokine

Despite growing interest and a recent surge in papers, the role of autophagy in glucose and lipid metabolism is unclear. We produced mice with skeletal muscle–specific deletion of Atg7 (encoding autophagy-related 7). Unexpectedly, these mice showed decreased fat mass and were protected from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance; this phenotype was accompanied by increased fatty acid oxidation and browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) owing to induction of fibroblast growth factor 21 (Fgf21). Mitochondrial dysfunction induced by autophagy deficiency increased Fgf21 expression through induction of Atf4, a master regulator of the integrated stress response. Mitochondrial respiratory chain inhibitors also induced Fgf21 in an Atf4-dependent manner. We also observed induction of Fgf21, resistance to diet-induced obesity and amelioration of insulin resistance in mice with autophagy deficiency in the liver, another insulin target tissue. These findings suggest that autophagy deficiency and subsequent mitochondrial dysfunction promote Fgf21 expression, a hormone we consequently term a 'mitokine', and together these processes promote protection from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance