An ABA triblock copolymer strategy for intrinsically stretchable semiconductors

A novel semiconductor-rubber-semiconductor (P3HT-PMA-P3HT) triblock copolymer has been designed and prepared according to the principle of thermoplastic elastomers. It behaves as a thermoplastic elastomer with a Young's modulus (E) of 6 MPa for an elongation at break of 140% and exhibits good electrical properties with a carrier mobility of 9 x 10(-4) cm(2) V-1 s(-1). This novel semiconductor may play an important role in low-cost and large-area stretchable electronics.open112223sciescopu

Decreased Serum Free Testosterone in Workers Exposed to High Levels of Di-n-butyl Phthalate (DBP) and Di-2-ethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP): A Cross-Sectional Study in China

BACKGROUND: Observations of adverse developmental and reproductive effects in laboratory animals and wildlife have fueled increasing public concern regarding the potential for various chemicals to impair human fertility. OBJECTIVE: Our objective in this study was to assess the effect of occupational exposure to high levels of phthalate esters on the balance of gonadotropin and gonadal hormones including luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, free testosterone (fT), and estradiol. METHODS: We examined urine and blood samples of 74 male workers at a factory producing unfoamed polyvinyl chloride flooring exposed to di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and compared them with samples from 63 male workers from a construction company, group matched for age and smoking status. RESULTS: Compared to the unexposed workers, the exposed workers had substantially and significantly elevated concentrations of mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP; 644.3 vs. 129.6 μg/g creatinine, p < 0.001) and mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP; 565.7 vs. 5.7 μg/g creatinine, p < 0.001). fT was significantly lower (8.4 vs. 9.7 μg/g creatinine, p = 0.019) in exposed workers than in unexposed workers. fT was negatively correlated to MBP (r = −0.25, p = 0.03) and MEHP (r = −0.19, p = 0.095) in the exposed worker group. Regression analyses revealed that fT decreases significantly with increasing total phthalate ester score (the sum of quartiles of MBP and MEHP; r = −0.26, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: We observed a modest and significant reduction of serum fT in workers with higher levels of urinary MBP and MEHP compared with unexposed workers

Age is a predicting factor for the association between CagA positive Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection and serum pepsinogen I:II ratio in a high gastric cancer risk region in China

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Optimization for the Production of Surfactin with a New Synergistic Antifungal Activity

-surfactin and the optimization of its production by the response surface method.O. A production of 134.2 mg/L, which were in agreement with the prediction, was observed in a verification experiment. In comparison to the production of original level (88.6 mg/L), a 1.52-fold increase had been obtained.-surfactin

Heavily electron-doped electronic structure and isotropic superconducting gap in AxFe2Se2 (A=K,Cs)

The low energy band structure and Fermi surface of the newly discovered superconductor, AxFe2Se2 (A=K,Cs), have been studied by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Compared with iron pnictide superconductors, AxFe2Se2 (A=K,Cs) is the most heavily electron-doped with Tc~30 K. Only electron pockets are observed with an almost isotropic superconducting gap of ~10.3 meV, while there is no hole Fermi surface near the zone center, which indicates the inter-pocket hopping or Fermi surface nesting is not a necessary ingredient for the unconventional superconductivity in iron-based superconductors. Thus, the sign changed s$_\pm$ pairing symmetry, a leading candidate proposed for iron-based superconductors, becomes conceptually irrelevant in describing the superconducting state here. A more conventional s-wave pairing is a better description.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, published online in Nature Materials 201

In situ evidence for the structure of the magnetic null in a 3D reconnection event in the Earth's magnetotail

Magnetic reconnection is one of the most important processes in astrophysical, space and laboratory plasmas. Identifying the structure around the point at which the magnetic field lines break and subsequently reform, known as the magnetic null point, is crucial to improving our understanding reconnection. But owing to the inherently three-dimensional nature of this process, magnetic nulls are only detectable through measurements obtained simultaneously from at least four points in space. Using data collected by the four spacecraft of the Cluster constellation as they traversed a diffusion region in the Earth's magnetotail on 15 September, 2001, we report here the first in situ evidence for the structure of an isolated magnetic null. The results indicate that it has a positive-spiral structure whose spatial extent is of the same order as the local ion inertial length scale, suggesting that the Hall effect could play an important role in 3D reconnection dynamics.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Improving corporate governance in state-owned corporations in China: which way forward?

This article discusses corporate governance in China. It outlines the basic agency problem in Chinese listed companies and questions the effectiveness of the current mechanisms employed to improve their standards of governance. Importantly, it considers alternative means through which corporate practice in China can be brought into line with international expectations and stresses the urgency with which this task must be tackled. It concludes that regulators in China must construct a corporate governance model which is compatible with its domestic setting and not rush to adopt governance initiatives modelled on those in cultures which are fundamentally different in the hope of also reproducing their success

Improved Constraints on Sterile Neutrino Mixing from Disappearance Searches in the MINOS, MINOS+, Daya Bay, and Bugey-3 Experiments.

Searches for electron antineutrino, muon neutrino, and muon antineutrino disappearance driven by sterile neutrino mixing have been carried out by the Daya Bay and MINOS+ collaborations. This Letter presents the combined results of these searches, along with exclusion results from the Bugey-3 reactor experiment, framed in a minimally extended four-neutrino scenario. Significantly improved constraints on the θ_{μe} mixing angle are derived that constitute the most constraining limits to date over five orders of magnitude in the mass-squared splitting Δm_{41}^{2}, excluding the 90%&nbsp;C.L. sterile-neutrino parameter space allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE observations at 90%&nbsp;CL_{s} for Δm_{41}^{2}&lt;13  eV^{2}. Furthermore, the LSND and MiniBooNE 99%&nbsp;C.L. allowed regions are excluded at 99% CL_{s} for Δm_{41}^{2}&lt;1.6 eV^{2}

A Single-Arm, Proof-Of-Concept Trial of Lopimune (Lopinavir/Ritonavir) as a Treatment for HPV-Related Pre-Invasive Cervical Disease

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the most common female malignancy in the developing nations and the third most common cancer in women globally. An effective, inexpensive and self-applied topical treatment would be an ideal solution for treatment of screen-detected, pre-invasive cervical disease in low resource settings. METHODS: Between 01/03/2013 and 01/08/2013, women attending Kenyatta National Hospital's Family Planning and Gynaecology Outpatients clinics were tested for HIV, HPV (Cervista®) and liquid based cervical cytology (LBC -ThinPrep®). HIV negative women diagnosed as high-risk HPV positive with high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) were examined by colposcopy and given a 2 week course of 1 capsule of Lopimune (CIPLA) twice daily, to be self-applied as a vaginal pessary. Colposcopy, HPV testing and LBC were repeated at 4 and 12 weeks post-start of treatment with a final punch biopsy at 3 months for histology. Primary outcome measures were acceptability of treatment with efficacy as a secondary consideration. RESULTS: A total of 23 women with HSIL were treated with Lopimune during which time no adverse reactions were reported. A maximum concentration of 10 ng/ml of lopinavir was detected in patient plasma 1 week after starting treatment. HPV was no longer detected in 12/23 (52.2%, 95%CI: 30.6-73.2%). Post-treatment cytology at 12 weeks on women with HSIL, showed 14/22 (63.6%, 95%CI: 40.6-82.8%) had no dysplasia and 4/22 (18.2%, 95%CI: 9.9-65.1%) were now low grade demonstrating a combined positive response in 81.8% of women of which 77.8% was confirmed by histology. These data are supported by colposcopic images, which show regression of cervical lesions. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the potential of Lopimune as a self-applied therapy for HPV infection and related cervical lesions. Since there were no serious adverse events or detectable post-treatment morbidity, this study indicates that further trials are clearly justified to define optimal regimes and the overall benefit of this therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN Registry 48776874