Novel thick-foam ferroelectret with engineered voids for energy harvesting applications

This work reports a novel thick-foam ferroelectret which is designed and engineered for energy harvesting applications. We fabricated this ferroelectret foam by mixing a chemical blowing agent with a polymer solution, then used heat treatment to activate the agent and create voids in the polymer foam. The dimensions of the foam, the density and size of voids can be well controlled in the fabrication process. Therefore, this ferroelectret can be engineered into optimized structure for energy harvesting applications

Mutations of acetylcholinesterase which confer insecticide resistance in Drosophila melanogaster populations

BACKGROUND: Organophosphate and carbamate insecticides irreversibly inhibit acetylcholinesterase causing death of insects. Resistance-modified acetylcholinesterases(AChEs) have been described in many insect species and sequencing of their genes allowed several point mutations to be described. However, their relative frequency and their cartography had not yet been addressed. RESULTS: To analyze the most frequent mutations providing insecticide resistance in Drosophila melanogaster acetylcholinesterase, the Ace gene was cloned and sequenced in several strains harvested from different parts of the world. Sequence comparison revealed four widespread mutations, I161V, G265A, F330Y and G368A. We confirm here that mutations are found either isolated or in combination in the same protein and we show that most natural populations are heterogeneous, composed of a mixture of different alleles. In vitro expression of mutated proteins showed that combining mutations in the same protein has two consequences: it increases resistance level and provides a wide spectrum of resistance. CONCLUSION: The presence of several alleles in natural populations, offering various resistance to carbamate and organophosphate compounds will complicate the establishment of resistance management programs

Multi-Objective Ant Colony Algorithm in EPC Risk Control

AbstractAccording to the risks and risk control target in energy performance contracting (EPC), this paper has designed the risk control measure set. On the basis, a risk control model is put forward, including the risk evaluation, risk control cost, risk loss. Then, a multi-objective ant colony algorithm, based on Pareto theory, is used to solve the model. A series of Pareto optimal solutions are got by example. The result shows that the solutions have the better diversity and convergence. At the same time, the model can find the best combination of various risk control measures in EPC, which can provide direct evidence for the company of EPC

Mirror symmetry decomposition in double-twisted multilayer graphene systems

Due to the observed superconductivity, the alternating twisted trilayer graphene (ATTLG) has drawn great research interest very recently, in which three monolayer graphene (MLG) are stacked in alternating twist way. If one or several of the MLG in ATTLG are replaced by a multilayer graphene, we get a double twisted multilayer graphene (DTMLG). In this work, we theoretically illustrate that, if the DTMLG has a mirror symmetry along z direction like the ATTLG, there exists a mirror symmetry decomposition (MSD), by which the DTMLG can be exactly decoupled into two subsystems with opposite parity. The two subsystems are either a twisted multilayer graphene (single twist) or a multilayer graphene, depending on the stacking configuration. Such MSD can give a clear interpretation about all the novel features of the moir\'{e} band structures of DTMLG, e.g. the fourfold degenerate flat bands and the enlarged magic angle. Meanwhile, in such DTMLG, the parity becomes a new degree of freedom of the electrons, so that we can define a parity resolved Chern number for the moir\'{e} flat bands. More importantly, the MSD implies that all the novel correlated phases in the twisted multilayer graphene should also exist in the corresponding DTMLGs, since they have the exact same Hamiltonian in form. Specifically, according to the MSD, we predict that the superconductivity should exist in the (1+3+1)-DTMLG.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Non-coding RNAs participate in the regulatory network of CLDN4 via ceRNA mediated miRNA evasion

AbstractThousands of genes have been well demonstrated to play important roles in cancer progression. As genes do not function in isolation, they can be grouped into “networks” based on their interactions. In this study, we discover a network regulating Claudin-4 in gastric cancer. We observe that Claudin-4 is up-regulated in gastric cancer and is associated with poor prognosis. Claudin-4 reinforce proliferation, invasion, and EMT in AGS, HGC-27, and SGC-7901 cells, which could be reversed by miR-596 and miR-3620-3p. In addition, lncRNA-KRTAP5-AS1 and lncRNA-TUBB2A could act as competing endogenous RNAs to affect the function of Claudin-4. Our results suggest that non-coding RNAs play important roles in the regulatory network of Claudin-4. As such, non-coding RNAs should be considered as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets against gastric cancer.</jats:p