Stabilizing forces acting on ZnO polar surfaces: STM, LEED, and DFT

published_or_final_versio

Diets containing sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) meals are hypocholesterolemic in young rats

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Towards an understanding of hole superconductivity

From the very beginning K. Alex M\"uller emphasized that the materials he and George Bednorz discovered in 1986 were $hole$ superconductors. Here I would like to share with him and others what I believe to be $the$ key reason for why high $T_c$ cuprates as well as all other superconductors are hole superconductors, which I only came to understand a few months ago. This paper is dedicated to Alex M\"uller on the occasion of his 90th birthday.Comment: Dedicated to Alex M\"uller on the Occasion of his 90th Birthday. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1703.0977

Clinical, Virological and Immunological Features from Patients Infected with Re-Emergent Avian-Origin Human H7N9 Influenza Disease of Varying Severity in Guangdong Province

The second wave of avian influenza H7N9 virus outbreak in humans spread to the Guangdong province of China by August of 2013 and this virus is now endemic in poultry in this region.Background The second wave of avian influenza H7N9 virus outbreak in humans spread to the Guangdong province of China by August of 2013 and this virus is now endemic in poultry in this region. Methods Five patients with H7N9 virus infection admitted to our hospital during August 2013 to February 2014 were intensively investigated. Viral load in the respiratory tract was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and cytokine levels were measured by bead-based flow cytometery. Results Four patients survived and one died. Viral load in different clinical specimens was correlated with cytokine levels in plasma and broncho-alveolar fluid (BALF), therapeutic modalities used and clinical outcome. Intravenous zanamivir appeared to be better than peramivir as salvage therapy in patients who failed to respond to oseltamivir. Higher and more prolonged viral load was found in the sputum or endotracheal aspirates compared to throat swabs. Upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines IP-10, MCP-1, MIG, MIP-1α/β, IL-1β and IL-8 was found in the plasma and BALF samples. The levels of cytokines in the plasma and viral load were correlated with disease severity. Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1) was found in three out of five patients (60%). Conclusion Expectorated sputum or endotracheal aspirate specimens are preferable to throat swabs for detecting and monitoring H7N9 virus. Severity of the disease was correlated to the viral load in the respiratory tract as well as the extents of cytokinemia. Reactivation of HSV-1 may contribute to clinical outcome.published_or_final_versio

Structure of hadron resonances with a nearby zero of the amplitude

We discuss the relation between the analytic structure of the scattering amplitude and the origin of an eigenstate represented by a pole of the amplitude.If the eigenstate is not dynamically generated by the interaction in the channel of interest, the residue of the pole vanishes in the zero coupling limit. Based on the topological nature of the phase of the scattering amplitude, we show that the pole must encounter with the Castillejo-Dalitz-Dyson (CDD) zero in this limit. It is concluded that the dynamical component of the eigenstate is small if a CDD zero exists near the eigenstate pole. We show that the line shape of the resonance is distorted from the Breit-Wigner form as an observable consequence of the nearby CDD zero. Finally, studying the positions of poles and CDD zeros of the KbarN-piSigma amplitude, we discuss the origin of the eigenstates in the Lambda(1405) region.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, v2: published versio

Set optimization - a rather short introduction

Recent developments in set optimization are surveyed and extended including various set relations as well as fundamental constructions of a convex analysis for set- and vector-valued functions, and duality for set optimization problems. Extensive sections with bibliographical comments summarize the state of the art. Applications to vector optimization and financial risk measures are discussed along with algorithmic approaches to set optimization problems

A review of physical supply and EROI of fossil fuels in China

This paper reviews China’s future fossil fuel supply from the perspectives of physical output and net energy output. Comprehensive analyses of physical output of fossil fuels suggest that China’s total oil production will likely reach its peak, at about 230 Mt/year (or 9.6 EJ/year), in 2018; its total gas production will peak at around 350 Bcm/year (or 13.6 EJ/year) in 2040, while coal production will peak at about 4400 Mt/year (or 91.9 EJ/year) around 2020 or so. In terms of the forecast production of these fuels, there are significant differences among current studies. These differences can be mainly explained by different ultimately recoverable resources assumptions, the nature of the models used, and differences in the historical production data. Due to the future constraints on fossil fuels production, a large gap is projected to grow between domestic supply and demand, which will need to be met by increasing imports. Net energy analyses show that both coal and oil and gas production show a steady declining trend of EROI (energy return on investment) due to the depletion of shallow-buried coal resources and conventional oil and gas resources, which is generally consistent with the approaching peaks of physical production of fossil fuels. The peaks of fossil fuels production, coupled with the decline in EROI ratios, are likely to challenge the sustainable development of Chinese society unless new abundant energy resources with high EROI values can be found

Solitary waves in the Nonlinear Dirac Equation

In the present work, we consider the existence, stability, and dynamics of solitary waves in the nonlinear Dirac equation. We start by introducing the Soler model of self-interacting spinors, and discuss its localized waveforms in one, two, and three spatial dimensions and the equations they satisfy. We present the associated explicit solutions in one dimension and numerically obtain their analogues in higher dimensions. The stability is subsequently discussed from a theoretical perspective and then complemented with numerical computations. Finally, the dynamics of the solutions is explored and compared to its non-relativistic analogue, which is the nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation. A few special topics are also explored, including the discrete variant of the nonlinear Dirac equation and its solitary wave properties, as well as the PT-symmetric variant of the model

Green tea polyphenols ameliorate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease through upregulating AMPK activation in high fat fed Zucker fatty rats

© The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved. To investigate protective effects and molecular mechanisms of green tea polyphenols (GTP) on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Zucker fatty (ZF) rats. METHODS Male ZF rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 2 wk then treated with GTP (200 mg/kg) or saline (5 mL/kg) for 8 wk, with Zucker lean rat as their control. At the end of experiment, serum and liver tissue were collected for measurement of metabolic parameters, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), inflammatory cytokines and hepatic triglyceride and liver histology. Immunoblotting was used to detect phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP1c). RESULTS Genetically obese ZF rats on a HFD presented with metabolic features of hepatic pathological changes comparable to human with NAFLD. GTP intervention decreased weight gain (10.1%, P = 0.052) and significantly lowered visceral fat (31.0%, P < 0.01). Compared with ZF-controls, GTP treatment significantly reduced fasting serum insulin, glucose and lipids levels. Reduction in serum ALT and AST levels (both P < 0.01) were observed in GTP-treated ZF rats. GTP treatment also attenuated the elevated TNFα and IL-6 in the circulation. The increased hepatic TG accumulation and cytoplasmic lipid droplet were attenuated by GTP treatment, associated with significantly increased expression of AMPK-Thr172 (P < 0.05) and phosphorylated ACC and SREBP1c (both P < 0.05), indicating diminished hepatic lipogenesis and triglycerides out flux from liver in GTP treated rats. CONCLUSION The protective effects of GTP against HFD-induced NAFLD in genetically obese ZF rats are positively correlated to reduction in hepatic lipogenesis through upregulating the AMPK pathway

An interval mixed-integer non-linear programming model to support regional electric power systems planning with CO2 capture and storage under uncertainty

Abstract Background Electric generating capacity expansion has been always an essential way to handle the electricity shortage, meanwhile, greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission, especially CO2, from electric power systems becomes crucial considerations in recent years for the related planners. Therefore, effective approach to dealing with the tradeoff between capacity expansion and carbon emission reduction is much desired. Results In this study, an interval mixed-integer non-linear programming (IMINLP) model was developed to assist regional electric power systems planning under uncertainty. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technologies had been introduced to the IMINLP model to help reduce carbon emission. The developed IMINLP model could be disassembled into a number of ILP models, then two-step method (TSM) was used to obtain the optimal solutions. A case study was provided for demonstrating applicability of the developed method. Conclusions The results indicated that the developed model was capable of providing alternative decisions based on scenario analysis for electricity planning with consideration of CCS technologies. The IMINLP model could provide an effective linkage between carbon sequestration and electric generating capacity expansion with the aim of minimizing system costs. </jats:sec