Housing equity and household consumption in retirement: Evidence from the Singapore Life Panel©

Ministry of Education, Singapore under its Academic Research Funding Tier

The Effects of Aqueous Extract from Nardostachys chinensis

Aims. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the aqueous extract of Nardostachys chinensis Batalin (NCBAE) on blood pressure and cardiac hypertrophy using two-kidney one-clip (2K1C) hypertensive rats. Methods. 2K1C rat models were set up by clipping the left renal artery. Sham-operated rats underwent the same surgical procedure except for renal arterial clipping. 2K1C hypertensive rats were orally given NCBAE at doses of 210, 420, and 630 mg·kg−1·d−1 for 6 weeks. Twelve weeks after surgery, rat SBP and echocardiographic parameters were measured, cardiac histopathology was assessed, serum NO and LDH were detected, and the expression of Bcl-2 and caspase-3 of left ventricular tissue was assessed by western blot. Results. Treatment with NCBAE resulted in a decrease of SBP, LVPWd, LVPWs, IVSd, IVSs, LVW/BW ratio, and cardiomyocyte CSA, an increase of LVEF, and inhibition of 2K1C-induced reduction in serum NO and elevation of LDH compared with 2K1C group. NCBAE intervention also showed a significant increase of Bcl-2 expression and reduction of cleaved caspase-3 level dose-dependently in left ventricular tissue. Conclusion. Our data demonstrate that NCBAE has an antihypertensive property and protective effect on 2K1C-induced cardiac hypertrophy especially at the dose of 630 mg·kg−1·d−1

Empirical Assessment and Comparison of Educational Efficiency between Major Countries across the World

Education is a fundamental factor to enhance a country’s comprehensive national strength and international competitiveness. Recently, several governments have been attracting investments in educational sectors in contemplation of meliorating a country’s overall strength. This study empirically assesses and compares the educational efficiency of 29 major countries across the world using panel data for 2010–2016 by employing data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the super-slacks-based measure (super-SBM) model at the static level combined with the Malmquist index (MI) to investigate educational efficiency at the dynamic level. The results indicate, inter alia, huge average education efficiency differences existed among the studied countries, the highest being Japan (3.2845) and lowest Norway (0.4137), there are differences in the bias of technological progress among the studied countries during the sample period and technological progress directly affects the sustainability of educational efficiency, the growth rate of total factor productivity (TFP) index has been reduced in 2010–2013 but increased in 2014–2016 and techno-logical progress has been the dominant factor influencing the rise of the education TFP index. Based on the results, this study identifies the merits and drawbacks of education efficiency across the sample countries and presents relevant recommendations to promote investment in the education sector and human capital

An Information Perception-Based Emotion Contagion Model for Fire Evacuation

In fires, people are easier to lose their mind. Panic will lead to irrational behavior and irreparable tragedy. It has great practical significance to make contingency plans for crowd evacuation in fires. However, existing studies about crowd simulation always paid much attention on the crowd density, but little attention on emotional contagion that may cause a panic. Based on settings about information space and information sharing, this paper proposes an emotional contagion model for crowd in panic situations. With the proposed model, a behavior mechanism is constructed for agents in the crowd and a prototype of system is developed for crowd simulation. Experiments are carried out to verify the proposed model. The results showed that the spread of panic not only related to the crowd density and the individual comfort level, but also related to people’s prior knowledge of fire evacuation. The model provides a new way for safety education and evacuation management. It is possible to avoid and reduce unsafe factors in the crowd with the lowest cost

Housing equity and household consumption in retirement: Evidence from the Singapore Life Panel

Ministry of Education, Singapore under its Academic Research Funding Tier

Experimental Investigation on Compressive Strength, Ultrasonic Characteristic and Cracks Distribution of Granite Rock Irradiated by a Moving Laser Beam

Efficient fracturing is the key issue for the exploitation of geothermal energy in a Hot Dry Rock reservoir. By using the laser irradiation cracking method, this study investigates the changes in uniaxial compressive strength, ultrasonic characteristics and crack distributions of granite specimens by applying a laser beam under various irradiation conditions, including different powers, diameters and moving speeds of the laser beam. The results indicate that the uniaxial compressive strength is considerably dependent on the power, diameter and moving speed of the laser beam. The ultrasonic-wave velocity and amplitude of the first wave both increase with a decreased laser power, increased diameter or moving speed of the laser beam. The wave form of irradiated graphite is flattened by laser irradiation comparing with that of the original specimen without laser irradiation. The crack angle and the ratio of the cracked area at both ends are also related to the irradiation parameters. The interior cracks are observed to be well-developed around the bottom of the grooving kerf generated by the laser beam. The results indicate that laser irradiation is a new economical and practical method that can efficiently fracture graphite

Identification of a SARS-CoV-2 virus-derived vmiRNA in COVID-19 patients holding potential as a diagnostic biomarker

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a lasting threat to public health. To minimize the viral spread, it is essential to develop more reliable approaches for early diagnosis of the infection and immediate suppression of the viral replication. Herein, through computational prediction of SARS-CoV-2 genome and screening analysis of specimens from covid-19 patients, we predicted 15 precursors for SARS-CoV-2-encoded miRNAs (CvmiRNAs) containing 20 mature CvmiRNAs, in which CvmiR-2 was successfully detected by quantitative analysis in both serum and nasal swab samples of patients. CvmiR-2 showed high specificity in distinguishing covid-19 patients from normal controls, and high conservation between SARS-CoV-2 and its mutants. A positive correlation was observed between the CvmiR-2 expression level and the severity of patients. The biogenesis and expression of CvmiR-2 were validated in the pre-CvmiR-2-transfected A549 cells, showing a dose-dependent pattern. The sequence of CvmiR-2 was validated by sequencing analysis of human cells infected by either SARS-CoV-2 or pre-CvmiR-2. Target gene prediction analysis suggested CvmiR-2 may be involved in the regulation of the immune response, muscle pain and/or neurological disorders in covid-19 patients. In conclusion, the current study identified a novel v-miRNA encoded by SARS-CoV-2 upon infection of human cells, which holds the potential to serve as a diagnostic biomarker or a therapeutic target in clinic

Overexpression of the Glutathione Peroxidase 5 (RcGPX5) Gene From Rhodiola crenulata Increases Drought Tolerance in Salvia miltiorrhiza

Excessive cellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to environmental stresses can critically disrupt plant development and negatively affect productivity. Plant glutathione peroxidases (GPXs) play an important role in ROS scavenging by catalyzing the reduction of H2O2 and other organic hydroperoxides to protect plant cells from oxidative stress damage. RcGPX5, a member of the GPX gene family, was isolated from a traditional medicinal plant Rhodiola crenulata and constitutively expressed in Salvia miltiorrhiza under control of the CaMV 35S promoter. Transgenic plants showed increased tolerance to oxidative stress caused by application of H2O2 and drought, and had reduced production of malondialdehyde (MDA) compared with the wild type. Under drought stress, seedlings of the transgenic lines wilted later than the wild type and recovered growth 1 day after re-watering. In addition, the reduced glutathione (GSH) and total glutathione (T-GSH) contents were higher in the transgenic lines, with increased enzyme activities including glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and GPX. These changes prevent H2O2 and O2- accumulation in cells of the transgenic lines compared with wild type. Overexpression of RcGPX5 alters the relative expression levels of multiple endogenous genes in S. miltiorrhiza, including transcription factor genes and genes in the ROS and ABA pathways. In particular, RcGPX5 expression increases the mass of S. miltiorrhiza roots while reducing the concentration of the active ingredients. These results show that heterologous expression of RcGPX5 in S. miltiorrhiza can affect the regulation of multiple biochemical pathways to confer tolerance to drought stress, and RcGPX5 might act as a competitor with secondary metabolites in the S. miltiorrhiza response to environmental stimuli