New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

eSports : from a competition to a billion-dollar industry : Tencent Ltd case study

The goal of this paper is to explore the potential for eSports to become a billion-dollar industry through its growth as a competitive form of entertainment. In order to achieve this objective, this paper will examine the current state of the eSports industry, including its history, major players, and current revenue streams. It will also discuss the components that make the development of eSports, including the enhancing acceptance of competitive gaming as a legitimate form of entertainment, the proliferation of online streaming platforms, and the rise of mobile gaming. Finally, this paper will consider the challenges that eSports faces as it seeks to become a billion-dollar industry, including issues related to team organization, player salaries, and regulation. Through its analysis of the eSports industry, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the potential for eSports to become a billion-dollar industry. While there are certainly challenges that must be overcome, the growing popularity of eSports and the increasing recognition of its value as a form of entertainment suggest that it has the potential to achieve significant financial success in the future

The National Target Program for New Rural Development in Vietnam: An Understanding of People&rsquo;s Participation and Its Determinants

This study proposes a participation scale of people in the national new rural program, namely the levels of know, discuss, implement, and monitor identifies participation and their determinants by employing Tobit regression models. From a dataset of 508 household respondents collected in seven regions across countries, we find that the highest level of participation is still at the level of know, while the lowest level is at the level of monitor. Additionally, in some areas of the program, people are mobilized to participate in certain activities, even though they do not have a good understanding nor thoroughly discuss how to carry it out. Considering the findings, we recommend increasing the active participation of the people in the bottom-up approach, associated with the practical needs of the people and the program&rsquo;s sustainability

The National Target Program for New Rural Development in Vietnam: An Understanding of People’s Participation and Its Determinants

This study proposes a participation scale of people in the national new rural program, namely the levels of know, discuss, implement, and monitor identifies participation and their determinants by employing Tobit regression models. From a dataset of 508 household respondents collected in seven regions across countries, we find that the highest level of participation is still at the level of know, while the lowest level is at the level of monitor. Additionally, in some areas of the program, people are mobilized to participate in certain activities, even though they do not have a good understanding nor thoroughly discuss how to carry it out. Considering the findings, we recommend increasing the active participation of the people in the bottom-up approach, associated with the practical needs of the people and the program’s sustainability

Tuning the inhomogeneous charge transport in ZnO interfaces for ultrahigh on/off ratio top-gated field-effect-transistor arrays

ⓒ Tsinghua University Press The interface between oxide/oxide layers shows an inhomogeneous charge transport behavior, which reveals a high conductivity owing to interface-doped. One typical example is the hetero-interface between ZnO film and other wide band gap oxides (e.g., Al2O3, TiO2, and HfO2). It is thus quite evident that the ZnO/other oxides hetero-interface contains high density electron carriers effectively screening the gate-induced electric field. Thus, an extremely weak gate modulation in ZnO film was showed, resulting in very low on/off ratio of 1.69 in top-gate field-effect-transistor (TG-FET) configuration. So, to extend the usage of ZnO TG-FET is not quite possible toward further practical application. Herein, we clarified the correlation of inhomogeneous region in oxide/oxide hetero-junction by systematically study. Our work suggests that a self-assembly of molecules (SAM) buffer layer is suitable for tuning the inhomogeneous charge transport in ZnO film, which not only reduces the interface trap density, but also effectively enhances the gate electric field modulation at the hetero-interface. We further report the robust fabrication of TG-FET arrays based on ZnO thin film, using an ultra-thin alkylphosphonic acid molecule monolayer as buffer layer. Our device demonstrates a pronounced ultrahigh on/off ratio of >= 10(8), which is 8-order of magnitude higher than that of a device without buffer layer. For the highly reliable arrays, our device exhibits a high yield of over 93% with an average on/off ratio of similar to 10(7)across the entire wafer scale, mobility (18.5 cm(2)/(V center dot s)), an extended bias-stressing (similar to 2,000 s) and long-stability (similar to 150 days) under ambient conditions11sciescopu

New naphthalene derivative from the leaves of <i>Cassia grandis</i> L.

<p><i>Cassia grandis</i> is used for the treatment of skin disorders, back pain, aches, etc. in Vietnamese traditional medicine. In this paper, phytochemicals of the leaves were investigated. A new naphthalene derivative (<b>1</b>, cassgranon D) and, seven known compounds rutin (<b>2</b>), afzelin (<b>3</b>), quercitrin (<b>4</b>), epicatechin (<b>5</b>), (-)-epiafzelechin (<b>6</b>), isoquercitrin (<b>7</b>) and aloe emodin (<b>8</b>) were isolated from the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts. Their structures were elucidated by spectral evidences (UV, IR, MS, ¹H, ¹³C, DEPT, HSQC and HMBC NMR), as well as by comparing with published data.</p