Applications of New Technologies and New Methods in ZHENG Differentiation

With the hope to provide an effective approach for personalized diagnosis and treatment clinically, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is being paid increasing attention as a complementary and alternative medicine. It performs treatment based on ZHENG (TCM syndrome) differentiation, which could be identified as clinical special phenotypes by symptoms and signs of patients. However, it caused skepticism and criticism because ZHENG classification only depends on observation, knowledge, and clinical experience of TCM practitioners, which is lack of objectivity and repeatability. Scientists have done fruitful researches for its objectivity and standardization. Compared with traditional four diagnostic methods (looking, listening and smelling, asking, and touching), in this paper, the applications of new technologies and new methods on the ZHENG differentiation were systemically reviewed, including acquisition, analysis, and integration of clinical data or information. Furthermore, the characteristics and application range of these technologies and methods were summarized. It will provide reference for further researches

Dominância fiscal : uma investigação empírica sobre o caso brasileiro no período de 2003 a 2014

A estabilização econômica dos anos de 1990 e a adoção do tripé econômico, a partir de 1999, marcam o fim de um capítulo delicado da história brasileira; a partir de então, era necessária a existência de certa sintonia de políticas monetária e fiscal para a manutenção do controle dos diversos indicadores econômicos. Contudo, com essa reciprocidade na política econômica, são incitadas discussões sobre a orientação do governo na hora de definir suas prioridades nesse campo: as variáveis fiscais são priorizadas e, por conseguinte, determinadas, forçando as monetárias a se ajustarem – ou o contrário? A resposta para esse questionamento leva à discussão sobre a dominância fiscal. Assim, esse trabalho visa verificar empiricamente, usando das modelagens econométricas VAR e estudo de eventos, se há dominância fiscal ou monetária na economia brasileira e se a eficácia da política monetária mudou na transição do governo Lula para o governo Dilma. O resultado foi inconclusivo para o governo Lula e indicou dominância fiscal no governo Dilma. Ainda verificou-se não haver modificação na eficácia da política monetária.Economic stabilization, in the 1990s, and utilization of an economic tripod, after 1999, represents the end of a delicate chapter in Brazilian history. Ever since, it was necessary the existence of a certain agreement between monetary and fiscal politic, in order to maintain under control a variety of economic indicators. However, this reciprocity (in economic politic) starts discussions about the real government orientations when it comes to define its priority on this subject: are the fiscal variables priorized, and then, determined, forcing monetary variables to adjust themselves, or the opposite? The answer to these questions emerge from the fiscal dominance discussion. This paper intends to empiric verify, using econometric modeling VAR and event study, if there is fiscal dominance or monetary in Brazilian economy and whether the effectiveness of monetary politic has changed in the transition from Lula's government to the Dilma government. The result was inconclusive for the Lula government and indicated fiscal dominance in the Dilma government. There was still no change in the efficiency of the monetary politic.CAPE

Theoretical and Experimental Research on the Mode Modulation Regulation for the Mode-Tunable Vortex Laser Based on Mode Conversion and Intra-Cavity Modulation

The vortex laser beam has been widely applied in many fields for its unique properties. However, researchers have to conduct extensive and recurring experiments to find the modulation abilities of the vortex beam modes for a given resonant cavity. In this paper, a mode modulation regulation acquisition (MORA) method, investigating the relationship between the modes of the vortex beam and modulation parameters, is proposed and verified. A typical mode-tunable vortex laser, consisting of a classic plano-concave straight cavity, a vortex beam generation beamline, and a reference beam acquisition beamline, is used as the analysis and experiment object. The principle and working process of the MORA method is analyzed in the simulation, and its validity is verified in the experiment. Based on the obtained theoretical relationship between the modes of the vortex beam and modulation parameters, the MORA method could be used to help researchers in designing the practical vortex laser with target vortex beams output by optimizing the structure of the vortex laser, selecting the suitable intra-cavity modulation elements (IMEs), and pre-positioning the location of the IMEs

Filtered Influence Function of Deformable Mirror for Wavefront Correction in Laser Systems

An influence function filtering method (IFFM) is presented to improve the wavefront correction capability in laser systems by curbing the correction performance degradation resulted from the IF measurement noise. The IFFM is applied to the original measured IF. The resulting filtered IF is then used to calculate the wavefront control signal in each iteration of the closed-loop correction. A theoretical wavefront correction analysis model (CAM) is built. The impact of the IF measurement noise as well as the improvement of the IFFM on the wavefront correction capability are analyzed. A simulation is set up to analyze the wavefront correction capability of the filtered IF using Zernike mode aberrations. An experiment is carried out to study the effectiveness of the IFFM under practical conditions. Simulation and experimental results indicate that the IFFM could effectively reduce the negative effect of the measurement noise and improve the wavefront correction capability in laser systems. The IFFM requires no additional hardware and does not affect the correction speed

Self-adaptive electrochemical reconstruction boosted exceptional Li+ ion storage in a Cu3P@C anode

Self-adaptive electrochemical reconstruction is proven to trigger superior performance of conversion anode materials for Li-ion batteries. In the case of Cu3P, Cu3P dots embedded in a carbon matrix resulting in high Li-ion storage activity, improved electronic conductivity and stability is induced and results in an ultralong (>10000 cycles) lifespan.MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore

Fading of a novel colorimetric receptor after recognizing H₂PO₄⁻

<p>A novel selective and sensitive colorimetric receptor <b>1</b> (<i>1</i>, <i>10</i>-<i>phenanthroline</i>-<i>2</i>, <i>9</i>-<i>dialdehyde bis</i>-(-<i>p</i>-<i>nitrophenylureasemicarbo</i>-<i>hydrazone</i>)) based on urea showing distinctive color fading phenomenon towards H₂PO₄⁻ ion was reported. Fancifully, the recognition process of receptor <b>1</b> to H₂PO₄⁻ was not interfered by the existence of others anions. We have probed the binding mechanism of <b>1</b>-H₂PO₄⁻ that H₂PO₄⁻ ion induced competitive hydrogen binding process via intramolecular hydrogen-bond by UV–vis, fluorescence, ¹H NMR titrations and ESI-MS experiments.</p

Expression of GPX4 by oncolytic vaccinia virus can significantly enhance CD8+T cell function and its impact against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

ABSTRACTPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is currently difficult to treat, even when therapies are combined with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). A novel strategy for immunotherapy would be to maximize the therapeutic potential of oncolytic viruses (OVs), which have been proven to engage the regulation of tumor microenvironment (TME) and cause-specific T-cell responses. To boost tumor sensitivity to ICB therapy, this study aimed to investigate how glutathione peroxide 4 (GPX4)-loaded OVs affect CD8+ T cells and repair the immunosuppressive environment. Here, we successfully constructed a novel recombinant oncolytic vaccinia virus (OVV) encoding the mouse GPX4 gene. We found the OVV-GPX4 effectively replicated in tumor cells and prompted the expression of GPX4 in T cells. Our research indicated that OVV-GPX4 could reshape the TME, rectify the depletion of CD8+T cells, and enhance the antitumor effects of ICB therapy

Current Understanding on Antihepatocarcinoma Effects of Xiao Chai Hu Tang and Its Constituents

Xiao Chai Hu Tang (XCHT), a compound formula originally recorded in an ancient Chinese medical book Shanghanlun, has been used to treat chronic liver diseases for a long period of time in China. Although extensive studies have been demonstrated the efficacy of this formula to treat chronic hepatitis, hepatic fibrosis, and hepatocarcinoma, how it works against these diseases still awaits full understanding. Here, we firstly present an overview arranging from the entire formula to mechanism studies of single herb in XCHT and their active components, from a new perspective of “separation study,” and we tried our best to both detailedly and systematically organize the antihepatocarcinoma effects of it, hoping that the review will facilitate the strive on elucidating how XCHT elicits its antihepatocarcinoma role

Low-Temperature Aging Provides 22% Efficient Bromine-Free and Passivation Layer-Free Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

Article Highlights By low-temperature aging, superior bromine-free FA1–xMAxPbI3 perovskite film is realized. By suppressing lead iodide on the surface of perovskite, no further passivation step or layer is needed. The efficiency of planar perovskite solar cells is improved to 22.41% with robust reproducibility.Abstract Previous reports of formamidinium/methylamine (FAMA)-mixed halide perovskite solar cells have focused mainly on controlling the morphology of the perovskite film and its interface—for example, through the inclusion of bromine and surface passivation. In this paper, we describe a new processing pathway for the growth of a high-quality bromine-free FAMAPbI3 halide perovskites via the control of intermediate phase. Through low-temperature aging growth (LTAG) of a freshly deposited perovskite film, α-phase perovskites can be seeded in the intermediate phase and, at the same time, prevent beta-phase perovskite to nucleate. After postannealing, large grain-size perovskites with significantly reduced PbI2 presence on the surface can be obtained, thereby eliminating the need of additional surface passivation step. Our pristine LTAG-treated solar cells could provide PCEs of greater than 22% without elaborate use of bromine or an additional passivation layer. More importantly, when using this LTAG process, the growth of the pure alpha-phase FAMAPbI3 was highly reproducible