Maize in China: Production Systems, Constraints, and Research Priorities

Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Research and Application of Digital Humanities with Social Network Analysis

Social network analysis is one of the methods of digital humanistic analysis. In this paper, we take the digital resources of contract documents of Shanghai Jiao Tong University as research data, and MATLAB as research tool, to carry out social network analysis and visualization. Through data processing, we can effectively acquire network nodes and network degree data, fit the power-law distribution based on the number of participants, detect and categorize legit community, and reveal the characteristics and structure of digital humanities and social network in digital resources.GECEM Project (ERC-Starting Grant), ref. 679371, Horizon 2020, project hosted at UPOCenter for Digital Sources of Chinese History, Library at Shanghai Jiao Tong Universit

Design, fabrication and characterization of one dimensional photonic crystal devices

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are periodically structured electromagnetic media, generally characterised by not permitting light of defined ranges of frequency to propagate through the structure. These disallowed ranges of frequency are known as photonic band gaps. The intentional introduction of defects into the crystal gives rise to localized electromagnetic states that provide a mechanism for the control of the propagation of photons through PhCs. In the case of one dimensional (1-D) PhCs, the introduction of a single defect into a finite PhC results in the formation of a resonant cavity structure, a so-called microcavity. The ease of fabrication and scope for integration make 1-D PhCs good candidates for the future applications of PhCs in light transmission systems and, as such, these structures are the focus of the research reported here. The aim of this thesis is to report a practical study of passive 1-D PhC devices and thereby extend the base of measurements that support and extend the results of theory and simulation. Various types of 1-D PhC structures have been fabricated using electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma technologies in a clean-room environment. The fabricated structures in effect demonstrate a first or primitive level of integration of 1-D PhCs with another optical device, namely a ridge waveguide. Measurements were performed by butt-coupling from a single mode fibre taper of the transmission characteristics of the resulting integrated waveguides, whilst a Side-band measurement method for very high resolution (0.2pm) microcavity characterisation was invented during the measurement process. A multiple wavelength transmission optical filter transmitting at the telecommunication wavelengths of 1310nm and 1550nm, and which could be used in a WDM system was demonstrated. The effect of introducing mode matching structures to minimize II the scattering loss and boost the quality factor value was investigated. Optimum positioning of the tapers produced a significant enhancement of Q. Finally, a narrow pass band filter constructed from coupled cavities was fabricated and characterised. A quasi-flat transmission peak with a pass band width of just 4nm was observed.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Surface Modification of Silicone Rubber by Ion Implantation to Improve Biocompatibility

Silicone Rubber (SR) and SR-based materials have been used as medical tissue implants in the field of plastic surgery for many years, but there are still some reports of adverse reactions to long-term implants. In our study, three types of carbon ion silicone rubber were obtained by implanting three doses of carbon ions. Then, the surface characteristics, the antibacterial adhesion properties and in vivo host responses were evaluated. These study shown that ion implantation change the surface roughness and zeta potential of virgin SR; it also inhibit bacterial adhesion. At the same time, ion implantation enhance the cell proliferation, adhesion and tissue compatibility. These data indicate that carbon ion implanted silicone rubber exhibits good antibacterial adhesion properties, cytocompatibility and triggers thinner and weaker tissue capsules. In addition, according to the surface characteristics, we speculate that high surface roughness and high zeta potential may be the main factors that induce the unique biocompatibility of carbon ion implanted silicone rubber. In this chapter, we will review these results above and propose that ion implantation should be considered for further investigation and application, and carbon ion silicone rubber could be a better biomaterial to decrease silicone rubber–initiated complications

Preparation, Characterization, and Preliminary Biocompatibility Evaluation of Carbon Ion-Implanted Silicone Rubber

Silicone rubber (SR) is a common soft tissue filler material used in plastic surgery. However, it suffers from poor biocompatibility. Previous studies have found that the ion implantation technology can be used to improve the biocompatibility of metal materials. However, it is not clear whether it can improve the biocompatibility of polymer materials. In this study, carbon ion SR was prepared by carbon ion implantation. After that, the characteristics of ion implanted SR were investigated. Then, Escherichia coli was utilized to test the antibacterial ability of the carbon ion implanted SR. Besides, the dermal fibroblasts were used to evaluate the cytocompatibility. From the results, carbon ion implantation had no significant effect on the hardness, tensile strength and elongation at break of SR. At the same time, there was no significant change in the surface morphology of SR. But the results show that the surface nano-morphology, surface element composition, hydrophobic and ζ potential of the surface of SR changed significantly. The changes further mediated the lower adhesion of bacteria and enhanced biocompatibility. In conclusion, the carbon ion implantation technology can improve the surface properties of silicone rubber, and further improve its biocompatibility

CH-ILKBP regulates cell survival by facilitating the membrane translocation of protein kinase B/Akt

Cell survival depends on proper propagation of protective signals through intracellular signaling intermediates. We report here that calponin homology domain–containing integrin-linked kinase (ILK)–binding protein (CH-ILKBP), a widely expressed adaptor protein localized at plasma membrane-actin junctions, is essential for transmission of survival signals. Cells that are depleted of CH-ILKBP undergo extensive apoptosis despite the presence of cell–extracellular matrix contacts and soluble growth factors. The activating phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt), a key regulator of apoptosis, is impaired in the absence of CH-ILKBP. Importantly, loss of CH-ILKBP prevents the membrane translocation of PKB/Akt. Furthermore, forced membrane targeting of PKB/Akt bypasses the requirement of CH-ILKBP for the activating phosphorylation of PKB/Akt, suggesting that CH-ILKBP is required for the membrane translocation but not the subsequent phosphorylation of PKB/Akt. Finally, we show that loss of CH-ILKBP is also required for the full activation of extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK)1/2. However, restoration of the PKB/Akt activation is sufficient for protection of cells from apoptosis induced by the depletion of CH-ILKBP despite the persistent suppression of the ERK1/2 activation. Thus, CH-ILKBP is an important component of the prosurvival signaling pathway functioning primarily by facilitating the membrane translocation of PKB/Akt and consequently the activation of PKB/Akt in response to extracellular survival signals