The Impact of Digital Currency on the Financial System: Universal Decentralized Digital Currency, Is It Possible?

With the continuous development of computer and blockchain technology, digital currency has gradually replaced some functions of legal tender. This paper investigated the impact and the feasibility of digital currency on the financial market. Combining the money demand theory of Karl Heinrich Marx and Milton Friedman respectively, we discussed the impact of electronic and cryptocurrencies on the amount of money in circulation. Then, through further empirical analysis, we conclude that in China, digital currency has a substitution effect on current deposits in the long term. Furthermore, the welfare effect level of different countries adopting different policies on digital currency is analyzed by using the local equilibrium model of tariff effect in small countries, and the policy choice of maximizing the total welfare level is discussed based on game theory. Finally, we put forward some suggestions on establishing the global financial supervision system

Doxorubicin resistance in breast cancer xenografts and cell lines can be counterweighted by microRNA-140-3p, through PD-L1 suppression

Background. Doxorubicin, a first-line chemotherapeutic drug for breast cancer, kills cancer cells by inducing DNA-crosslinking damage. Dysregulated micro-RNA (miRNA) is associated with the drug resistance of tumors. However, little is known about the effect of miRNA-140-3p on DOX resistance of breast cancer. Methods. The miRNA microarray was used to sequence the transcripts of DOX-chemoresistant breast cancer tissues and DOX-chemosensitive tissues. Then, the breast cancer tissue chip in the GEO database was also analyzed to screen the target gene. Flow cytometry, in situ hybridisation (ISH), immunohistochemistry (IHC), Western blot, cell proliferation assay, real-time PCR analyses (qRT-PCR), and pull-down assay were used to explore the effects of miRNA-140-3p and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) on the chemoresistance of DOX-resistant breast cancer cells treated with DOX. In vivo, the DOX-resistant breast cancer cell lines treated with miRNA-140-3p overexpression were injected subcutaneously into mice to construct breast cancer subcutaneous xenograft tumor models. Results. Based on miRNA microarray, GEO database, and bioinformatics analysis, it was found that miRNA-140-3p and PD-L1 are the core molecules in the DOX resistance regulatory network in breast cancer, and lower miRNA-140-3p and higher PD-L1 expression levels were observed in DOX-resistant breast cancer tissues and cells. IHC results showed that compared with breast cancer tissues with high miRNA-140-3p expression, PD-L1 protein expression levels in breast cancer tissues with low miRNA-140-3p were significantly higher (P<0.01). Moreover, compared with DOX-sensitive tissues, the levels of PD-L1 protein expression in DOX-resistant tissues were significantly higher (P<0.01). In in vitro and in vivo experiments, the introduction of miRNA-140-3p decreased PD-L1 expression. Mechanically, we found that the MCF7/DOX and HS598T/DOX cells pretreated with miRNA140-3p inhibitor or exosomes containing PD-L1 have higher stemness and lower apoptosis rate, which can be abrogated by co-treating cells with anti-PD-L1 antibody or miRNA-140-3p mimic. Conclusions. MiRNA-140-3p can suppress PD-L1 expression in breast cancer cell-derived exosomes, thereby attenuating the chemoresistance induced by DOX in breast cancer

Full-Wave Analysis of Field-to-Line Coupling Effects Using 1D FDTD Method under Exciting Source with Different Bandwidths

With the aim to analyze field-to-line coupling effects based on energy spectrum, parallel finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is applied to calculate the induced voltage on overhead lines under high-power electromagnetic (HPEM) environment. Firstly, the energy distribution laws of HEMP (IEC 61000-2-9), HEMP (Bell Laboratory), HEMP (Paulino et al., 2010), and LEMP (IEC61000-4-5) are given. Due to the air-earth stratified medium, both the absorbing boundary and the connecting boundary applied to scattering by finite-length objects are separately set in aerial and underground parts. Moreover, the influence of line length on induced voltage is analyzed and discussed. The results indicate that the half-peak width is wider with the increase of the line length. But the steepness of induced voltage on the overhead line is invariable. There is no further increase in the peak of induced voltage especially when the line length increases to be equivalent to the wavelength of the frequency bands with the maximum energy

The effect of microstructure and the related bio-corrosion behavior Mg alloy in SBF artificial body fluid

The effect of SBF artificial body fluid on microstructure and morphology characteristics of AZ91D alloy was investigated using OM, SEM and XRD. The effect of corrosion on mechanical properties also was researched. The results show that the corrosion weight loss rate initially increased, then clearly decreased, and finally remained steady. Pits began to appear when the sample was placed in a corrosive environment for five days and pitting gradually increased with longer exposure time. The pits, which made the grain boundaries indistinct, first appeared near the grain boundary area and then gradually increased in area. The main mode of corrosion is pitting and the primary corrosion product, MgOH₂, could be observed after five days of corrosion

Low-Temperature Gas Plasma Combined with Antibiotics for the Reduction of Methicillin-Resistant \u3ci\u3eStaphylococcus aureus\u3c/i\u3e Biofilm Both in Vitro and in Vivo

Biofilm infections in wounds seriously delay the healing process, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of wound infections. In addition to inactivating micro-organisms, low-temperature gas plasma can restore the sensitivity of pathogenic microbes to antibiotics. However, the combined treatment has not been applied to infectious diseases. In this study, low-temperature gas plasma treatment promoted the effects of different antibiotics on the reduction of S. aureus biofilms in vitro. Low-temperature gas plasma combined with rifampicin also effectively reduced the S. aureus cells in biofilms in the murine wound infection model. The blood and histochemical analysis demonstrated the biosafety of the combined treatment. Our findings demonstrated that low-temperature gas plasma combined with antibiotics is a promising therapeutic strategy for wound infections

Effects of artificial light with different spectral compositions on refractive development and matrix metalloproteinase 2 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 expression in the sclerae of juvenile guinea pigs

Artificial light can affect eyeball development and increase myopia rate. Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) degrades the extracellular matrix, and induces its remodeling, while tissue inhibitor of matrix MMP-2 (TIMP-2) inhibits active MMP-2. The present study aimed to look into how refractive development and the expression of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 in the guinea pigs' remodeled sclerae are affected by artificial light with varying spectral compositions. Three weeks old guinea pigs were randomly assigned to groups exposed to five different types of light: natural light, LED light with a low color temperature, three full spectrum artificial lights, i.e. E light (continuous spectrum in the range of ~390-780 nm), G light (a blue peak at 450 nm and a small valley 480 nm) and F light (continuous spectrum and wavelength of 400 nm below filtered). A-scan ultrasonography was used to measure the axial lengths of their eyes, every two weeks throughout the experiment. Following twelve weeks of exposure to light, the sclerae were observed by optical and transmission electron microscopy. Immunohistochemistry, Western blot and RT-qPCR were used to detect the MMP-2 and TIMP-2 protein and mRNA expression levels in the sclerae. After four, six, eight, ten, and twelve weeks of illumination, the guinea pigs in the LED and G light groups had axial lengths that were considerably longer than the animals in the natural light group while the guinea pigs in the E and F light groups had considerably shorter axial lengths than those in the LED group. Following twelve weeks of exposure to light, the expression of the scleral MMP-2 protein and mRNA were, from low to high, N group, E group, F group, G group, LED group; however, the expression of the scleral TIMP-2 protein and mRNA were, from high to low, N group, E group, F group, G group, LED group. The comparison between groups was statistically significant (p<0.01). Continuous, peaks-free or valleys-free artificial light with full-spectrum preserves remodeling of scleral extracellular matrix in guinea pigs by downregulating MMP-2 and upregulating TIMP-2, controlling eye axis elongation, and inhibiting the onset and progression of myopia

Clinical Characteristics of 26 Human Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus Infection in China

BACKGROUND: While human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infection continue to increase globally, available clinical data on H5N1 cases are limited. We conducted a retrospective study of 26 confirmed human H5N1 cases identified through surveillance in China from October 2005 through April 2008. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Data were collected from hospital medical records of H5N1 cases and analyzed. The median age was 29 years (range 6-62) and 58% were female. Many H5N1 cases reported fever (92%) and cough (58%) at illness onset, and had lower respiratory findings of tachypnea and dyspnea at admission. All cases progressed rapidly to bilateral pneumonia. Clinical complications included acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, 81%), cardiac failure (50%), elevated aminotransaminases (43%), and renal dysfunction (17%). Fatal cases had a lower median nadir platelet count (64.5 x 10(9) cells/L vs 93.0 x 10(9) cells/L, p = 0.02), higher median peak lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) level (1982.5 U/L vs 1230.0 U/L, p = 0.001), higher percentage of ARDS (94% [n = 16] vs 56% [n = 5], p = 0.034) and more frequent cardiac failure (71% [n = 12] vs 11% [n = 1], p = 0.011) than nonfatal cases. A higher proportion of patients who received antiviral drugs survived compared to untreated (67% [8/12] vs 7% [1/14], p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The clinical course of Chinese H5N1 cases is characterized by fever and cough initially, with rapid progression to lower respiratory disease. Decreased platelet count, elevated LDH level, ARDS and cardiac failure were associated with fatal outcomes. Clinical management of H5N1 cases should be standardized in China to include early antiviral treatment for suspected H5N1 cases