Binuclear Copper(I) Complexes for Near-Infrared Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells

Two binuclear heteroleptic CuI complexes, namely Cu−NIR1 and Cu−NIR2, bearing rigid chelating diphosphines and π-conjugated 2,5-di(pyridin-2-yl)thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole as the bis-bidentate ligand are presented. The proposed dinuclearization strategy yields a large bathochromic shift of the emission when compared to the mononuclear counterparts (M1–M2) and enables shifting luminescence into the near-infrared (NIR) region in both solution and solid state, showing emission maximum at ca. 750 and 712 nm, respectively. The radiative process is assigned to an excited state with triplet metal-to-ligand charge transfer (3MLCT) character as demonstrated by in-depth photophysical and computational investigation. Noteworthy, X-ray analysis of the binuclear complexes unravels two interligand π–π-stacking interactions yielding a doubly locked structure that disfavours flattening of the tetrahedral coordination around the CuI centre in the excited state and maintain enhanced NIR luminescence. No such interaction is present in M1–M2. These findings prompt the successful use of Cu−NIR1 and Cu−NIR2 in NIR light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs), which display electroluminescence maximum up to 756 nm and peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.43 %. Their suitability for the fabrication of white-emitting LECs is also demonstrated. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first examples of NIR electroluminescent devices based on earth-abundant CuI emitters

Safety and efficacy of intracoronary artery administration of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in STEMI of Lee-Sung pigs—A preclinical study for supporting the feasibility of the OmniMSC-AMI phase I clinical trial

BackgroundThis study tested whether early left intracoronary arterial (LAD) administration of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMMSCs, called OmniMSCs) in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) of Lee-Sung pigs induced by 90 min balloon-occluded LAD was safe and effective.Methods and resultsYoung male Lee-Sung pigs were categorized into SC (sham-operated control, n = 3), AMI-B (STEMI + buffer/21 cc/administered at 90 min after STEMI, n = 6), and AMI-M [acute myocardial infarction (AMI) + hBMMSCs/1.5 × 107/administered at 90 min after STEMI, n = 6] groups. By 2 and 5 months after STEMI, the cardiac magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated that the muscle scar score (MSS) and abnormal cardiac muscle exercise score in the infarct region were significantly increased in the AMI-B than in the SC group that were significantly reversed in the AMI-M group, whereas the left ventricular ejection function by each month (from 1 to 5) displayed an opposite pattern of MSS among the groups (all p < 0.001). By 5 months, histopathological findings of infarct and fibrosis areas and isolectin-B4 exhibited an identical pattern, whereas the cellular expressions of troponin-I/troponin-T/von Willebrand factor exhibited an opposite pattern of MSS among the groups (all p < 0.001). The ST-segment resolution (>80%) was significantly earlier (estimated after 6-h AMI) in the AMI-M group than in the AMI-B group (p < 0.001). The protein expressions of inflammation (IL-1β/TNF-α/NF-κB)/oxidative stress (NOX-1/NOX-2/oxidized protein)/apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3/cleaved PARP)/DNA damage (γ-H2AX) displayed an identical pattern to MSS among the groups, whereas the protein expressions of angiogenesis factors (SDF-1α/VEGF) were significantly and progressively increased from SC, AMI-B, to AMI-M groups (all p < 0.001).ConclusionEarly intra-LAD transfusion of OmniMSC treatment effectively reduced the infarct size and preserved LV function in porcine STEMI

Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability, but its overall association with health remains complex given the possible protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption on some conditions. With our comprehensive approach to health accounting within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we generated improved estimates of alcohol use and alcohol-attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 locations from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for 5-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older. Methods Using 694 data sources of individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use, we produced estimates of the prevalence of current drinking, abstention, the distribution of alcohol consumption among current drinkers in standard drinks daily (defined as 10 g of pure ethyl alcohol), and alcohol-attributable deaths and DALYs. We made several methodological improvements compared with previous estimates: first, we adjusted alcohol sales estimates to take into account tourist and unrecorded consumption; second, we did a new meta-analysis of relative risks for 23 health outcomes associated with alcohol use; and third, we developed a new method to quantify the level of alcohol consumption that minimises the overall risk to individual health. Findings Globally, alcohol use was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and DALYs in 2016, accounting for 2.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1.5-3.0) of age-standardised female deaths and 6.8% (5.8-8.0) of age-standardised male deaths. Among the population aged 15-49 years, alcohol use was the leading risk factor globally in 2016, with 3.8% (95% UI 3.2-4-3) of female deaths and 12.2% (10.8-13-6) of male deaths attributable to alcohol use. For the population aged 15-49 years, female attributable DALYs were 2.3% (95% UI 2.0-2.6) and male attributable DALYs were 8.9% (7.8-9.9). The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were tuberculosis (1.4% [95% UI 1. 0-1. 7] of total deaths), road injuries (1.2% [0.7-1.9]), and self-harm (1.1% [0.6-1.5]). For populations aged 50 years and older, cancers accounted for a large proportion of total alcohol-attributable deaths in 2016, constituting 27.1% (95% UI 21.2-33.3) of total alcohol-attributable female deaths and 18.9% (15.3-22.6) of male deaths. The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0.0-0.8) standard drinks per week. Interpretation Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption.Peer reviewe

Optimal Remedy for Opportunistic Breach

本篇論文的研究重心，在於希望能找到一種機制，使老闆不會因為員工年老後生產力衰退而將其開除；老公不會因為老婆生完小孩身材變形而將其拋棄。我們利用一個二工人、一老闆的二期模型，假設工人的生產力會因為年紀的增長而衰退，而且有努力投入的工人衰退的情形更為嚴重，並設存在一個補償c，當老闆要將員工解雇時，必須要支付給員工。我們的研究發現，只要投入的成本i小於某範圍時，無論學習效果的大小、工人為風險中立或趨避、是否假設有限責任下，均存在最佳狀況 ，廠商的行為與社會福利最大下的結果相一致；但若i大於此一範圍時，便不存在最佳狀況，且可能會產生廠商為了自身利益而做出違背社會福利最大狀況下的行為，此時便需要透過政府的介入，使廠商的行為回復到社會福利最大下的狀況。若想要達到我們所希望的員工投入，老闆不將其解雇的情形 ，唯有在契約中明訂員工必須要投入大於一定的範圍且員工的議價能力很強下，才能保護員工不會被廠商任意的解雇。在此契約下，老闆只賺得正常利潤，而員工則成為剩餘價值的要求者(residual claimant)

Essays on Network Economics

本篇論文由兩篇在網路經濟學中不同但重要的議題所組成：一篇是關於搜尋引擎贊助商廣告的拍賣，另一篇則是電信巿場接續費的研究。 消費者與廣告商相同都有可能多重選址，但是少有文獻討論消費者的多重選址行為（利用兩個以上的搜尋引擎進行關鍵字的搜索）。因此，在第一章中，我將點擊率（click-through rate）表示成三部分的組合（與廣告商本身相關的的部分，與廣告欄位相關的部分，以及本文中特有的考慮了消費者多重選址行為後的調整項）並建立一個完全資訊下，二個搜尋引擎的關鍵字拍賣模型，用以推導出在考慮消費者和廣告商的多重選址行為後，參與拍賣的廣告商均衡出價策略，以及廣告商們和搜尋引擎們的均衡利潤。在一般化的次價點擊率加權拍賣（generalized second-price click-weighted auction）下，Nash均衡為：贏家（擁有較高品質分數者）永遠會選擇同時在兩個搜尋引擎進行關鍵字拍賣，最後分配的結果會是按照廣告商們加權後的出價高低來排序。若能將過去文獻中的點擊率改成本文所提及的由三部分組合而成的點擊率，則所有參與關鍵字拍賣的廣告商均可以很簡單的出價，如同以前只在一個搜尋引擎下進行拍賣一樣。因而簡化了廣告商們在考慮消費者也會多重選址時，在二個搜尋引擎下的拍賣策略。 而在第二章中，我特別介紹了在電信巿場，實際上網內通話以及網外通話的傳遞路徑，並建立模型來討論在三種不同的成本差異模型下，廠商們的均衡價格及接續費的決定。第一種成本差異是網內通話以及網外通話社會成本的不同（由於傳遞路徑不同），第二種則是轉接成本（switch cost）的不同（由於電信業者光纖網路建設完整性不同），第三種則是發話及受話成本的不同（由於電信業者得標的頻率不同）。當每個電信業者的成本結構相同時，均衡時所決定的接續費會等於成本基礎下的接續費。然而，若電信業者間的成本結構不同時（轉接成本不同或受話及發話成本不同），均衡時所決定的接續費至少會高於電信業者們中最低的受話成本（terminating cost）。只有在電信業者們網內及網外成本結構不同時（第一種成本差異下），均衡的網外對網內的價格比會高於接續費的加價比率（mark up ratio）。而在其餘的 情況下，均衡的網外對網內的加價比會等於接續費的加價比率。This thesis consists of two very different but important issues on network economics: one in sponsored search auctions, and the other in telecommunication market. Consumers, like advertisers, may multi-home, but few　studies have discussed this particular consumer behavior. Hence, in chapter one, I modify the click-through rate into three parts (the bidder-specific part, the slot-specific part and extit{the adjustment part} for the existence of multi-homing consumers) and set up a complete information model in sponsored search auctions with two search engines to derive the bidders'' equilibrium bidding strategies and all the agents'' equilibrium profits when they face multi-homing consumers. Under the mechanism of generalized second-price click-weighted auctions , I, applying Nash equilibrium, find that the winning bidders (those who have the higher quality scores) always multi-home (bid on both search engines) and their allocation is assortative. By utilizing the adjusted CTRs mentioned in this paper, all bidders can bid as if there is no multi-homing consumers which simplifies finding equilibrium under the situation when bidders bid on more than one search engine. In chapter two, I introduce the real transmitting process in telecommunication market and then set up a model to discuss the equilibrium under three different kinds of cost differences. The first is different social costs between making an on-net call and making an off-net call, the second is different switch costs (because of different fiber networks), and the third is different originating or terminating costs (since different network operators owns different frequency channel). When operators'' cost structures are the same, the equilibrium access charge is equal to the cost-based access charge. However, when operators'' cost structures are not the same (cost difference in switch cost and cost difference in originating or terminating cost), the equilibrium access charge is higher than the lower terminating cost. Only when there is cost differences between making an on-net call and making an off-net call, the equilibrium price ratio is higher than the mark up ratio. In other cases, the equilibrium price ratio is the same as its corresponding mark up ratio

Development of a Flexible Metamaterial Film with High EM Wave Absorptivity by Numerical and Experimental Methods

The present study is intended to develop and test a cost-effective and efficient printing method for fabricating flexible metamaterial film with high electromagnetic wave absorptivity. The film can be easily applied to the surfaces with curved aspects. Firstly, numerical parametric study of the absorption characteristics of the film is performed for the range of frequency varying from 2.0 to 9.0 GHz based on commercial software package. Secondly, the flexible metamaterial films are fabricated, and experiments are conducted. The flexible metamaterial film consists of a flexible dielectric film made of polyimide (PI) and an array of split-ring resonators. The split-ring resonators of different geometric dimensions are fabricated on the PI film surface by using a silver nanoparticles ink jet printer. The performance of the flexible structure is then measured and dependence of operation frequency with higher absorptivity on the dimensions of the split-ring resonators is investigated. A comparison between the numerical and experimental data shows that the numerical predictions of the operation frequency with higher absorptivity closely agree with the experimental data