The effects of dog management on Echinococcus spp. prevalence in villages on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Background The pastoral area of the eastern Tibetan plateau is a very important human echinococcosis endemic region. Domestic dogs are the main definitive host for the transmission of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.1.) and E. multilocularis to humans. To control the infection risks, a national-level canine echinococcosis prevention and control program has been implemented since 2015 in Shiqu County, Sichuan, China, The objective of this investigation was to evaluate its effect on Echinococcus spp. prevalence in dogs. Methods We surveyed 69 households with 84 owned dogs, for dog keeping information in the villages of Rizha and Eduoma. A total of 105 dog fecal samples, consisting of 75 from owned dogs and 30 unknown dog fecal samples were collected between 2015 and 2017 to determine Echinococcus spp. prevalence using copro-PCR. Eight variables based on household surveys were included into a logistic regression model for significantly relevant factors to canine echinococcosis prevalence in dogs. Results The overall Echinococcus spp. copro-DNA prevalence decreased significantly in dogs from 51.2% (2015) to 20.0% (2017) in Rizha, and insignificantly from 11.5% (2016) to 4.3% (2017) in Eduoma. Echinococcus multilocularis was the most prevalent species continually detected during the entire research period, while E. granulosus was rare and not detected in 2017. Echinococcus shiquicus prevalence was as high as E. multilocularis , although only detected in 2015 in Rizha. Unleashed dog feces were mainly collected in Rizha Village in 2015. Although 93.2% of owned dogs were leashed, and the monthly praziquantel dosing rate reached 97%, E. multilocularis infection could still be detected in 11.1% of owned dogs in 2017. Monthly deworming, leashing dogs 24h per day, and the avoidance of dogs feeding on livestock viscera are significant measures to prevent canine echinococcosis infection in owned dogs. Conclusion Carrying out a canine echinococcosis prevention and control program can significantly decrease the Echinococcus prevalence. The potential contact between leashed dogs and wild small mammals is still a risk to re-infect owned dogs. This study shows that the long term application of regular dog dosing in the vast remote echinococcosis endemic areas of west China is still challenging

Developing Innovative Competences in an Emerging Business System: New Private Enterprises in Hangzhou’s Software Industry

What kind of innovative competences are credibly developed by private entrepreneurs in China’s transition economy? On the basis of original empirical fieldwork in 45 software enterprises in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, we propose a working theory of innovative competence development in an emerging private sector. Combining resource-based and institutional perspectives we argue that Chinese private enterprises in Hangzhou were able to develop unique innovative competences to overcome resource constraints and manage technical - and market risks while respecting the location and sector-specific constraints. The findings suggest that private software enterprises in Hangzhou developed five innovative competences: organizational integration, financial commitment, external knowledge transformation, reputation development and strategic flexibility. The analysis further allows to propose three implications: 1) These five competences form a ‘configuration’ or coherent set of competences in this particular institutional setting; 2) Technological – and institutional regimes shape the potential range of innovative competences firms credibly develop depending on the available resources of the firm; 3) Innovative competences can be functional equivalents of institutions in the absence of well-developed, mature formal institutions

Thermal Expansions in Wurtzite AlN, GaN, and InN: First-Principle Phonon Calculations

Using the first-principle phonon calculations under the quasiharmonic approximation, thermal expansions in III-nitrides with wurtzite AlN, GaN, and InN are reported. The results showed that it is different for each thermal expansion of three III-nitrides at low temperatures, which is consistent with their Grneisen parameters as the function of temperature. Below 50 K, negative thermal expansions occur in InN, while GaN and AlN follow the rule of positive thermal expansion. To seek the origin of positivenegative thermal expansion distinction, the mode Grneisen parameters and the phonon spectra are investigated. They indicate that different low-frequency phonon vibration modes correspond to the change of thermal expansions. Below 5 THz, the significant weighted negative values of mode Grneisen parameters, caused by the weakening of mixing-mode constituted with two transverse acoustic (TA) modes and a small overlapped part of optical modes, directly lead to the negative thermal expansion at low temperatures

Synthesis Of 2-(Substituted Phenyl)-355-Trimethylmorpholine Analogues And Their Effects On Monoamine Uptake Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Function And Behavioral Effects Of Nicotine

Toward development of smoking cessation aids superior to bupropion (2), we describe synthesis of 2-(substituted phenyl)-3,5,5-trimethylmorpholine analogues 5a-5h and their effects on inhibition of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin uptake, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) function, acute actions of nicotine, and nicotine-conditioned place preference (CPP). Several analogues encompassing aryl substitutions, N-alkylation, and alkyl extensions of the morpholine ring 3-methyl group provided analogues more potent in vitro than (S,S)-hydroxybupropion (4a) as inhibitors of dopamine or norepinephrine uptake and antagonists of nAChR function. All of the new (S,S)-5 analogues had better potency than (S,S)-4a as blockers of acute nicotine analgesia in the tail-flick test. Two analogues with highest potency at α3β4-nAChR and among the most potent transporter inhibitors have better potency than (S,S)-4a in blocking nicotine-CPP. Collectively, these findings illuminate mechanisms of action of 2 analogues and identify deshydroxybupropion analogues 5a-5h as possibly superior candidates as aids to smoking cessation. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Synthesis And Characterization Of In Vitro And In Vivo Profiles Of Hydroxybupropion Analogues: Aids To Smoking Cessation

To create potentially superior aids to smoking cessation and/or antidepressants and to elucidate bupropions possible mechanisms of action(s), 23 analogues based on its active hydroxymetabolite (2S,3S)-4a were synthesized and tested for their abilities to inhibit monoamine uptake and nAChR subtype activities in vitro and acute effects of nicotine in vivo. The 3′,4′-dichlorophenyl [(±)-4n], naphthyl (4r), and 3-chlorophenyl or 3-propyl analogues 4s and 4t, respectively, had higher inhibitory potency and/or absolute selectivity than (2S,3S)-4a for inhibition of DA, NE, or 5HT uptake. The 3′-fluorophenyl, 3′-bromophenyl, and 4-biphenyl analogues 4c, 4d, and 4l, respectively, had higher potency for antagonism of α4β2-nAChR than (2S,3S)-4a. Several analogues also had higher potency than (2S,3S)-4a as antagonists of nicotine-mediated antinociception in the tail-flick assay. The results suggest that compounds acting via some combination of DA, NE, or 5HT inhibition and/or antagonism of α4β2-nAChR can potentially be new pharmacotherapeutics for treatment of nicotine dependence. © 2010 American Chemical Society

Electrically Tunable Excitonic Light Emitting Diodes based on Monolayer WSe2 p-n Junctions

Light-emitting diodes are of importance for lighting, displays, optical interconnects, logic and sensors. Hence the development of new systems that allow improvements in their efficiency, spectral properties, compactness and integrability could have significant ramifications. Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides have recently emerged as interesting candidates for optoelectronic applications due to their unique optical properties. Electroluminescence has already been observed from monolayer MoS2 devices. However, the electroluminescence efficiency was low and the linewidth broad due both to the poor optical quality of MoS2 and to ineffective contacts. Here, we report electroluminescence from lateral p-n junctions in monolayer WSe2 induced electrostatically using a thin boron nitride support as a dielectric layer with multiple metal gates beneath. This structure allows effective injection of electrons and holes, and combined with the high optical quality of WSe2 it yields bright electroluminescence with 1000 times smaller injection current and 10 times smaller linewidth than in MoS2. Furthermore, by increasing the injection bias we can tune the electroluminescence between regimes of impurity-bound, charged, and neutral excitons. This system has the required ingredients for new kinds of optoelectronic devices such as spin- and valley-polarized light-emitting diodes, on-chip lasers, and two-dimensional electro-optic modulators.Comment: 13 pages main text with 4 figures + 4 pages upplemental material