The Influence of Changes in Taiwan’s Legislative Electoral System on the Democratic Progressive Party (2008-2012)

Elections to the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan are crucial to the exercise of national legislative power, and an important mechanism for popular participation in decision making through representative politics. This study looks at the historical consequences of the political demands for a “single member, dual ballot” electoral system and “halving of legislative seats” during Taiwan’s democratization process, and the resultant path dependence for Taiwan’s legislative elections, from which the mixed-member system with two ballots in single member constituencies emerged as the direction for constitutional reform. This constitutional amendment project driven by cooperation between the two major parties in Taiwan ultimately produced a disproportional outcome, under which the Kuomintang (KMT) as the largest party has enjoyed a dominant position due to over-representation, while the number of seats won by other parties was reduced. This may not have been the result originally anticipated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). However, changes in the electoral system occur in the context of path dependent dilemmas. Only a new wave of constitutional revisions can correct the large difference between legislative representation and the structure of the electorate, and bring the system closer to the basic principles of representative politics under democracy

The role of thrombomodulin lectin-like domain in inflammation

Thrombomodulin (TM) is a cell surface glycoprotein which is widely expressed in a variety of cell types. It is a cofactor for thrombin binding that mediates protein C activation and inhibits thrombin activity. In addition to its anticoagulant activity, recent evidence has revealed that TM, especially its lectin-like domain, has potent anti-inflammatory function through a variety of molecular mechanisms. The lectin-like domain of TM plays an important role in suppressing inflammation independent of the TM anticoagulant activity. This article makes an extensive review of the role of TM in inflammation. The molecular targets of TM lectin-like domain have also been elucidated. Recombinant TM protein, especially the TM lectin-like domain may play a promising role in the management of sepsis, glomerulonephritis and arthritis. These data demonstrated the potential therapeutic role of TM in the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Qubit Mapping Toward Quantum Advantage

Qubit Mapping is a pivotal stage in quantum compilation flow. Its goal is to convert logical circuits into physical circuits so that a quantum algorithm can be executed on real-world non-fully connected quantum devices. Qubit Mapping techniques nowadays still lack the key to quantum advantage, scalability. Several studies have proved that at least thousands of logical qubits are required to achieve quantum computational advantage. However, to our best knowledge, there is no previous research with the ability to solve the qubit mapping problem with the necessary number of qubits for quantum advantage in a reasonable time. In this work, we provide the first qubit mapping framework with the scalability to achieve quantum advantage while accomplishing a fairly good performance. The framework also boasts its flexibility for quantum circuits of different characteristics. Experimental results show that the proposed mapping method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on quantum circuit benchmarks by improving over 5% of the cost complexity in one-tenth of the program running time. Moreover, we demonstrate the scalability of our method by accomplishing mapping of an 11,969-qubit Quantum Fourier Transform within five hours

Phosphorylation at Ser473 regulates heterochromatin protein 1 binding and corepressor function of TIF1beta/KAP1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As an epigenetic regulator, the transcriptional intermediary factor 1β (TIF1β)/KAP1/TRIM28) has been linked to gene expression and chromatin remodeling at specific loci by association with members of the heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) family and various other chromatin factors. The interaction between TIF1β and HP1 is crucial for heterochromatin formation and maintenance. The HP1-box, PXVXL, of TIF1β is responsible for its interaction with HP1. However, the underlying mechanism of how the interaction is regulated remains poorly understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This work demonstrates that TIF1β is phosphorylated on Ser473, the alteration of which is dynamically associated with cell cycle progression and functionally linked to transcriptional regulation. Phosphorylation of TIF1β/Ser473 coincides with the induction of cell cycle gene <it>cyclin A2 </it>at the S-phase. Interestingly, chromatin immunoprecipitation demonstrated that the promoter of <it>cyclin A2 </it>gene is occupied by TIF1β and that such occupancy is inversely correlated with Ser473 phosphorylation. Additionally, when HP1β was co-expressed with TIF1β/S473A, but not TIF1β/S473E, the colocalization of TIF1β/S473A and HP1β to the promoters of <it>Cdc2 </it>and <it>Cdc25A </it>was enhanced. Non-phosphorylated TIF1β/Ser473 allowed greater TIF1β association with the regulatory regions and the consequent repression of these genes. Consistent with possible inhibition of TIF1β's corepressor function, the phosphorylation of the Ser473 residue, which is located near the HP1-interacting PXVXL motif, compromised the formation of TIF1β-HP1 complex. Finally, we found that the phosphorylation of TIF1β/Ser473 is mediated by the PKCδ pathway and is closely linked to cell proliferation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The modulation of HP1β-TIF1β interaction through the phosphorylation/de-phosphorylation of TIF1β/Ser473 may constitute a molecular switch that regulates the expression of particular genes. Higher levels of phosphorylated TIF1β/Ser473 may be associated with the expression of key regulatory genes for cell cycle progression and the proliferation of cells.</p

Biomechanical comparisons of F.E.R.I. techniques with different type of intramedullary screws fixation for Jones fractures

Introduction: Jones fractures frequently fail to unite, and adequate fixation stability is crucial. This study aimed to elucidate the biomechanical stability of various intramedullary screw fixation constructs.Methods: Jones fracture model over the proximal 5th metatarsal of artificial bone was created in all specimens. Six groups were divided based on varied screw constructs with different screw lengths, either 30 or 40 mm, including cannulated screws—C30 and C40 groups, one high-resistance suture combined with intramedullary cannulated screws (F.E.R.I. technique)—CF30 and CF40 groups, and second-generation headless compression screws (SG-HCS) —HL30 and HL40 groups. Mechanical testing was conducted sequentially, and the maximal force (N) and stiffness (N/mm) of all constructs were recorded.Results: The maximal force (N) at 1.0 mm downward displacement in C30, C40, CF30, CF40, HL30, and HL40 groups were 0.56 ± 0.02, 0.49 ± 0.02, 0.65 ± 0.02, 0.49 ± 0.01, 0.68 ± 0.02, and 0.73 ± 0.02, respectively, and the stiffness (N/mm) in subgroups were 0.49 ± 0.01, 0.43 ± 0.01, 0.67 ± 0.01, 0.42 ± 0.01, 0.61 ± 0.01, and 0.58 ± 0.02, respectively. SG-HCS subgroups exhibited greater maximal force and stiffness than conventional cannulated screws. Screws of 30 mm in length demonstrated better stability than all 40 mm-length screws in each subgroup. In C30 fixation, the stiffness and maximum force endured increased by 1.16 and 1.12 times, respectively, compared with the C40 fixation method. There were no significant differences between CF30 and SG-HCS groups. Only the F.E.R.I technique combined with the 4.5 mm cannulated screw of 30 mm in length increased the biomechanical stability for Jones fractures.Discussion: These biomechanical findings help clinicians decide on better screw fixation options for greater stability in Jones fractures, especially when large-diameter screws are limited in use. However, this biomechanical testing of intramedullary screw fixation on Jones fracture model lacks clinical validation and no comparisons to extramedullary plate fixations. Moving forward, additional clinical and biomechanical research is necessary to validate our findings

Konsep Demokrasi Politik Dalam Islam

Coexistence of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with asthma appears to impair asthma control. Type-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) respond to the cytokines of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-25 and IL-33, thus contributing to airway diseases such as CRS and asthma. We investigate whether the augmented Th2-cytokines in CRS might be related to sinonasal tract ILC2s corresponding to enhanced IL-25, IL-33 and TSLP release in severe asthmatics, and be involved in asthma control. Twenty-eight asthmatics (12 non-severe and 16 severe) with CRS receiving nasal surgery were enrolled. The predicted FEV1 inversely associated with CRS severity of CT or endoscopy scores. Higher expression of Th2-driven cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, and IL-13), TSLP, IL-25 and IL-33 in nasal tissues was observed in severe asthma. Severe asthmatics had higher ILC2 cell counts in their nasal tissues. ILC2 counts were positively correlated with Th2-cytokines. Nasal surgery significantly improved asthma control and lung function decline in severe asthma and CRS. The higher expression of IL-33/ILC2 axis-directed type 2 immune responses in nasal tissue of CRS brought the greater decline of lung function in severe asthma. ILC2-induced the upregulated activity of Th2-related cytokines in asthmatics with CRS may contribute to a recalcitrant status of asthma control