ZnO nanowire inorganic/organic hybrid ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diode (LED) have attracted considerable attention as they not only combine the high flexibility of polymers with the structural and chemical stability of inorganic nanostructures, but also have the higher light extraction efficiency than thin film structures. However, up to date, the external ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the correlates of depressive symptoms among women who have immigrated to Korea for marriage. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data reflecting Korean language fluency, acculturation, acculturative stress, general stress, and marital satisfaction were collected from 223 married immigrant women. FINDINGS: There was a significant ...

We use sub-picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence measurements to study the nature of photoluminescence in graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide. Our data indicate that, in contrast to prior suggestions, the photoluminescence spectra of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide are inhomogeneously broadened. We observe substantial energy redistribution and relaxation among the ...

A stronger metal-support interaction between Pd and plate-form Ga(2)O(3) nanocrystals covered with the predominant 002 surface than other Ga(2)O(3) surfaces is found, which gives higher methanol yield in catalytic CO(2) hydrogenation.

The reaction of Na(OSi(t)Bu(2)Me) with CrCl(3) yields solid [Cr(OSi(t)Bu(2)Me)(3)](n) (1), which can be crystallized in the presence of excess Na(OSi(t)Bu(2)Me) to yield [Na(THF)][Cr(OSi(t)Bu(2)Me)(4)] (2). This complex is oxidized to yield Cr(OSi(t)Bu(2)Me)(4) (3), a crystalline chromium(IV) siloxide complex that is air- and moisture-stable. Electronic spectroscopic analysis of the absorption spectrum of ...

OBJECTIVEThe role of inflammation in the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in type 1 diabetes is unclear. We examined the association of inflammation and progression of coronary artery calcification (CAC)-a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis-in adults with and without type 1 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA nested case-control study was performed within ...

HIV-1 reverse transcriptase discriminates poorly between dUTP and dTTP, and accordingly, viral DNA products become heavily uracilated when viruses infect host cells that contain high ratios of dUTP:dTTP. Uracilation of invading retroviral DNA is thought to be an innate immunity barrier to retroviral infection, but the mechanistic features of this ...

The molecular mechanism of antimony-resistant Leishmania donovani (Sb(R)LD)-driven up-regulation of IL-10 and multidrug-resistant protein 1 (MDR1) in infected macrophages (Ms) has been investigated. This study showed that both promastigote and amastigote forms of Sb(R)LD, but not the antimony-sensitive form of LD, express a unique glycan with N-acetylgalactosamine as a terminal ...

ABSTRACT: Despite improved detection and reduction of breast cancer-related deaths over the recent decade, breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the US, with 39,510 women expected to succumb to metastatic disease in 2012 alone (American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts &Figures 2012. Atlanta: American ...

The integrin leukocyte function associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) binds the intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) by its α(L)-chain inserted domain (I-domain). This interaction plays a key role in cancer and other diseases. We report the structure-based design, small-scale synthesis, and biological activity evaluation of a novel family of LFA-1 antagonists. ...

As we age, the composition of our peripheral leukocytes changes dramatically. Many of these alterations contribute to the general immune dysfunction that burdens the elderly, which in turn, contributes to increased susceptibility to disease. MDSCs represent a heterogeneous population of immunosuppressive leukocytes that are elevated in the peripheral blood of ...

A compendium of different solid carbonaceous materials detected in space is presented, focussing on the search for organic matter of prebiotic interest. This journey takes us from the carbon grains likely formed in the atmospheres of evolved stars to organic grain mantles made from ice processing thought to be present ...

Metamaterials are artificial media which can provide optical properties not available from natural materials. These properties often result from the resonant excitation of plasmonic modes in the metallic building blocks ("metaatoms") of the metamaterial. Electromagnetic interactions between the metaatoms significantly modify the resonances of the individual metaatoms and influence the ...

Chemotaxis (detecting and following chemical gradients) plays a crucial role in the function of many biological systems. In particular, gradient following by neuronal growth cones is important for the correct wiring of the nervous system. There is increasing interest in the constraints that determine how small chemotacting devices respond to ...

Low-frequency vibrational bands observed in Raman and THz spectra in the region of 50-150 cm(-1) of crystalline powder poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) were assigned based on comparisons of the Raman and THz spectra, polarization directions of THz absorption spectra, and their congruities to quantum-mechanically (QM) calculated spectra. This combination, Raman and THz ...

The anesthetic propofol inhibits the currents of the homo-pentameric ligand-gated ion channel GLIC, yet the crystal structure of GLIC with five propofol molecules bound symmetrically shows an open-channel conformation. To address this dilemma and determine if symmetry of propofol binding sites affects the channel conformational transition, we performed a total ...

BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association's national goals for cardiovascular health promotion emphasize that cardiovascular risk originates early in life, but little is known about child factors that may increase the likelihood of having favorable cardiovascular risk (FCR) in adulthood. We examined the prospective association between positive child factors and likelihood ...

The addition of enzyme biofunctionality to self-assembling peptide nanofibers is challenging since such additions can inhibit functionality or self-assembly. We introduce a method for peptide nanofiber enzyme functionalization, demonstrated by the attachment of a polymerization synthase to peptide nanofibers. The enzyme generates a biocompatible, biodegradable biopolyester coat on the fibers ...

Genome-modification technologies enable the rational engineering and perturbation of biological systems. Historically, these methods have been limited to gene insertions or mutations at random or at a few pre-defined locations across the genome. The handful of methods capable of targeted gene editing suffered from low efficiencies, significant labor costs, or ...

Recent studies indicate that human-induced pluripotent stem cells contain genomic structural variations and point mutations in coding regions. However, these studies have focused on fibroblast-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells, and it is currently unknown whether the use of alternative somatic cell sources with varying reprogramming efficiencies would result in ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Though promising progress has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal four through substantial reduction in under-five mortality, the decline in neonatal mortality remains stagnant, mainly in the middle and low-income countries. As an option, health facility delivery is assumed to reduce this problem significantly. However, the ...

In order to gain molecular level understanding of drug dissolution into aqueous media, we report the first molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of a drug crystal dissolving. The simulation was performed for acetaminophen crystal Form I dissolving in 0.15 M aqueous NaCl solution at 37 °C. The 10 ns simulation revealed ...

Optically thin cirrus near the tropical tropopause regulate the humidity of air entering the stratosphere, which in turn has a strong influence on the Earth's radiation budget and climate. Recent high-altitude, unmanned aircraft measurements provide evidence for two distinct classes of cirrus formed in the tropical tropopause region: (i) vertically ...

PURPOSE: Ovarian cancer often progresses by disseminating to the peritoneal cavity, but how the tumor cells evade host immunity during this process is poorly understood. Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) is known to suppress immune system and to be expressed on cancer cells. The purpose of this study ...

The p21-activated serine-threonine kinase (PAK1) is activated by small GTPase-dependent and -independent mechanisms and regulates cell motility. Both PAK1 and the hormone prolactin (PRL) have been implicated in breast cancer by numerous studies. We have previously shown that the PRL-activated tyrosine kinase JAK2 (Janus tyrosine kinase 2) phosphorylates PAK1 in ...

An autofluorescent whole-cell biocatalyst capable of simultaneously degrading organophosphates (OPs) and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) was constructed by display of organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion on the cell surface of a γ-HCH-degrading Sphingobium japonicum UT26 using the truncated ice nucleation protein (INPNC) as an anchoring motif. The surface ...

Purpose: The ability of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to enhance intracortical inhibition has motivated its use as a potential therapeutic intervention in focal hand dystonia (FHD). In this preliminary investigation, we assessed the physiologic and behavioral effects of multiple sessions of rTMS in FHD. Methods: 12 patients with ...

A novel dual tip nanomanipulation atomic force microscope (AFM) platform operating in ambient conditions is presented. The system is equipped with a high frequency quartz piezoelectric self-sensing scanning probe for fast imaging and a passive cantilever for manipulation. The system is validated by imaging and selective pushing/pulling of gold colloid ...

Background:This case report describes a patient who developed severe bradycardia due to transdermal fentanyl. There have been no prior case reports of this occurring in palliative care, but the frequency of association of fentanyl with bradycardia in the anesthesia setting suggests it may be more common than realized. Palliative care ...

We report in this work real time characterization of enzyme-coenzyme binding by using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and dual polarization interferometry (DPI) analyses. Results showed that diaphorase (DP) and lactate dehydrogenases (LDH) had distinct binding selectivity and preference over reduced and oxidized states of coenzyme NAD(H). Based on that, DP ...

The charge transport properties in the TiO2 nanoparticle networks with the different TiO2 nanoparticle sizes were investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) with consideration of morphological aspects of mesoporous TiO2 network including particle size (dp), coordination number (Nn), neck diameter (dn) and effective surface area (Se). The morphological ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Nigeria and Ghana have recently introduced a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) with the aim of moving towards universal health care using more equitable financing mechanisms. This study compares health and economic indicators, describes the structure of each country's NHIS within the wider healthcare system, and analyses impacts ...

We present a derivation of the Markovian master equation for an out-of-equilibrium quantum dot connected to two superconducting reservoirs, which are described by the Bogoliubov-de Gennes Hamiltonians and have the chemical potentials, the temperatures, and the complex order parameters as the relevant quantities. We consider a specific example in which ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Epilepsy is a common brain disorder characterized by a chronic predisposition to generate spontaneous seizures. The mechanisms for epilepsy formation remain unknown. A growing body of evidence suggests the involvement of inflammatory processes in epileptogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the involvement of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography is a convenient technique to investigate muscle properties and has been widely used to look into muscle functions since it is non-invasive and real-time. Muscle thickness, a quantification which can effectively reflect the muscle activities during muscle contraction, is an important measure for musculoskeletal studies using ultrasonography. ...

Anion exchange membranes prepared from quaternized poly(tetramethyl diphenyl ether sulfone) (QAPES) were first investigated in the context of vanadium flow battery (VFB) applications. The membranes showed an impressive suppression effect on vanadium ions. The recorded vanadium permeability was 0.02×10(-7) -0.09×10(-7)  cm(2)  min(-1) , which was two orders of magnitude lower ...

Gene expression is controlled by the joint effect of (i) the global physiological state of the cell, in particular the activity of the gene expression machinery, and (ii) DNA-binding transcription factors and other specific regulators. We present a model-based approach to distinguish between these two effects using time-resolved measurements of ...

Van der Waals-coupled materials, ranging from multilayers of graphene and MoS(2) to superlattices of nanoparticles, exhibit rich emerging behaviour owing to quantum coupling between individual nanoscale constituents. Double-walled carbon nanotubes provide a model system for studying such quantum coupling mediated by van der Waals interactions, because each constituent single-walled nanotube ...

Layer by layer: Electron-transport layers (ETLs) of transferable graphene oxide (GO) inserted by using a stamping nanotechnology result in bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells with enhanced power conversion efficiency because of enhanced electron-charge transport and reduced electronic charge barrier with low series resistance. The GO ETL also increases the stability of ...

OBJECTIVEMany studies of diabetes have examined risk factors at the time of diabetes diagnosis instead of considering the lifetime burden of adverse risk factor levels. We examined the 30-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor burden that participants have up to the time of diabetes diagnosis.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSAmong participants free ...

PURPOSE: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in Western counties, which has been also occurred in Chinese male with markedly increasing incidence in recent years. Although the mechanism underlying its progression still remains unclear, epigenetic modifications are important ethological parameters. Exrimental Design: The ...

Cationic copper(I) dicarbonyl complexes supported by N-heterocyclic carbene ligands, SIPr and IPr*, have been synthesized. [(SIPr)Cu(CO)(2)][SbF(6)] and [(IPr*)Cu(CO)(2)][SbF(6)] have a trigonal planar, three-coordinate copper atom with an average Cu-CO distance of 1.915 Å and display C-O stretching frequencies higher than that of the free CO (2143 cm(-1)). The high CO ...

Viruses have unique lifestyles. To describe the pathogenesis and significance of viral infection in terms of host responses, resultant injury, and therapy, we focused on two RNA viruses: lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV) and influenza (Flu). Many of the currently established concepts and consequences about viruses and immunologic tolerance, virus-induced immunosuppression, virus-induced ...

Integrating system-justification and objectification theories, the research reported here broadens the scope of prior work on women's self-objectification to examine its system-justifying function. I investigated the relation of trait and state self-objectification to support for the gender status quo and engagement in gender-based social activism among U.S. college women. Study ...

Introduction: Vascular graft infection in peripheral bypass surgery represents a highly significant risk with regard to limb loss and morbidity. In the absence of autologous superficial veins, finding a suitable replacement material can be difficult. Silver-coated polyester grafts, homografts, or use of deep veins can pose additional risks. Use of ...

Context:Obesity is characterized by decreased insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in muscle and shift from glucose to lipid oxidation, the so-called metabolic inflexibility. Biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), a mainly malabsorptive bariatric operation, determines a prompt improvement of insulin resistance, but the mechanisms are still unclear.Objective:We aimed to estimate the response of glucose transporter ...

Autophagy is a conserved feature of lysosome-mediated intracellular degradation. Dysregulated autophagy is implicated as a contributor in neurodegenerative diseases; however, the role of autophagy in retinal degeneration remains largely unknown. Here, we report that the photo-activated visual chromophore, all-trans-retinal, modulated autophagosome formation in ARPE19 retinal cells. Increased formation of autophagosomes ...

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) form a kinase tier module in which MAPK, MAP2K and MAP3K are held by scaffold proteins. The scaffold proteins serve as a protein platform for selective and spatial kinase activation. The precise mechanism by which the scaffold proteins function has not yet been fully explained. WDR62 ...

Clostridium thermocellum produces the prototypical cellulosome, a large multi-enzyme complex that efficiently hydrolyzes plant cell wall polysaccharides into fermentable sugars. This ability has garnered great interest for its potential application in bio-fuel production. The core non-catalytic scaffoldin subunit, CipA, bears nine type-I cohesin (CohI) modules that interact with the type-I ...

Muramyl peptides (MPs) represent the building blocks of bacterial peptidoglycan, a critical component of bacterial cell walls. MPs are well characterized for their immunomodulatory properties, and numerous studies have delineated the role of MPs or synthetic MP analogs in host defense, adjuvanticity and inflammation. More recently, Nod1 and Nod2 have ...