Expression and Clinical Significance of Various Cytokines in Otitis Media

The expression and clinical significance of relevant cytokines in otitis media (OM) are discussed, and the alterations to the pathological state of the otitis media mucosa are further understood through the study of cytokine transduction pathways. More and more studies have shown that relevant cell proliferation and inflammation progression pathways play a role in the development of otitis media, such as the Jun amino-terminal protein kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, the NF-κB signaling pathway, and the PI3K/AKT/PTEN pathway, which are involved in the proliferation of the middle ear mucosa during otitis media, which affects the mucosal cilia, motor function, Eustachian tube function, and the mucosal ciliary function. These studies provide new ideas for the treatment of otitis media and further explore the feasibility of immunotherapy in the future treatment of otitis media. In this paper, we present a review of the latest research progress on the expression of various cytokines in otitis media.

A Lagrangian-based flame index for the transported probability density function method

We propose a new flame index for the transported probability density function(PDF) method. The flame index uses mixing flux projections of Lagrangian particles on mixture fraction and progress variable directions as the metrics to identify the combustion mode, with the Burke-Schumann solution as a reference. A priori validation of the flame index is conducted with a series of constructed turbulent partially premixed reactors. It indicates that the proposed flame index is able to identify the combustion mode based on the subgrid mixing information. The flame index is then applied the large eddy simulation/PDF datasets of turbulent partially premixed jet flames. Results show that the flame index separate different combustion modes and extinction correctly. The proposed flame index provides a promising tool to analyze and model the partially premixed flames adaptively.

The Analysis of the Van-Ercis Earthquake,October 23,2011 Turkey,for the Transportation Systems in the Region

This paper investigates the effect of the Van-Ercis, Turkey, (Mw: 7.2)earthquake occurring on 23rd of October, 2011 on the transportation networks in the region. The basic incentivefor this research is to conceptualise the reliability and performance of the networks after the earthquake through the operational and topological analysis of the system. The demand and composition of the traffic along with the behaviour of the pedestrians were taken into account to evaluate the performance of the networks. In addition, the general structure of the cities and towns, as far as planning is concerned, is also paid attention and regarded as one of the main elements for the appraisal. The outcomes obtained are thought very important to be guidance for the expected Istanbul earthquake in the near future.

Oligomerization of drug transporters:Forms,functions,and mechanisms

Drug transporters are essential players in the transmembrane transport of a wide variety of clinical drugs.The broad substrate spectra and versatile distribution pattern of these membrane proteins infer their pharmacological and clinical significance.With our accumulating knowledge on the three-dimensional structure of drug transporters,their oligomerization status has become a topic of intense study due to the possible functional roles carried out by such kind of post-translational modification(PTM).In-depth studies of oligomeric complexes formed among drug transporters as well as their interactions with other regulatory proteins can help us better understand the regulatory mechanisms of these membrane proteins,provide clues for the development of novel drugs,and improve the therapeutic efficacy.In this review,we describe different oligomerization forms as well as their structural basis of major drug transporters in the ATP-binding cassette and solute carrier superfamilies,summarize our current knowledge on the influence of oligomerization for protein expression level and transport function of these membrane proteins,and discuss the regulatory mechanisms of oligomerization.Finally,we highlight the challenges associated with the current oligomerization studies and propose some thoughts on the pharmaceutical application of this important drug transporter PTM.

Theoretical Investigation on the Charge Transport Properties of 2,5-Di(cyanovinyl)-thiophene/furan with the Kinetic Monte Carlo Method

Exploring, designing, and synthesizing novel organic field-effect transistor （OFET） materials have kept an important and hot issue in organic electronics. In the current work, the charge transport properties for 2,5-di（cyanovinyl）thiophene/furan crystal associating two pentafluorophenyl units linked via the azomethine bond, CTE and CFE have been theoretically investigated by means of density functional theory （DFT） calculations coupled with the incoherent charge-hopping mechanism and the kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. Results show that these two compounds possess remarkably low-lying HOMO （-7.0 eV） and LUMO （-4.0 eV） levels, as well as large electron affinities （〉 3.0 eV）, which indicate their high stability exposed to air as promising OFET materials. However, the ph value at room temperature （T = 300 K） is predicted to be 2.058x10^7 cm26Vl·s-1, and the is as low as 9.834^10-8 cm2-V-l.s-1 for CFT crystal. Meanwhile, these two values are 7.561 x 10-8 and 8.437 x 10-8 cm2.V-I.s-1 for the CFE crystal, respectively. Furthermore, the simulation of angle-dependent mobility in the a-b, a-c, and b-c crystal planes shows that the charge transport in CTE and CFE crystals is remarkably anisotropic, which maybe is helpful for the fabrication of high-performance OFET devices.

Low-frequency variability of terrestrial water budget in China using GRACE satellite measurements from 2003 to 2010

Mass variations in terrestrial water storage（TWS） obtained from eight years of satellite data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment（GRACE） are used to describe low frequency TWS through Empirical Orthogonal Function（EOF） analysis. Results of the second seasonal EOF mode show the influence of the Meiyu season. Annual variability is clearly shown in the precipitation distribution over China, and two new patterns of interannual variability are presented for the first time from observations, where two periods of abrupt acceleration are seen in 2004 and 2008. GRACE successfully measures drought events in southern China, and in this respect, an association with the Arctic Oscillation and El Nino-Southern Oscillation is discussed. This study demonstrates the unique potential of satellite gravity measurements in monitoring TWS variations and large-scale severe drought in China.

Photon-assisted electronic and spin transport through two T-shaped three-quantum-dot molecules embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer

We investigate the time-modulated electronic and spin transport properties through two T-shaped three-quantum-dot molecules embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm（A-B） interferometer. By using the Keldysh non-equilibrium Green＇s function technique, the photon-assisted spin-dependent average current is analyzed. The T-shaped three-quantum-dot molecule A-B interferometer exhibits excellent controllability in the average current resonance spectra by adjusting the interdot coupling strength, Rashba spin-orbit coupling strength, magnetic flux, and amplitude of the time-dependent external field.Efficient spin filtering and multiple electron-photon pump functions are exploited in the multi-quantum-dot molecule A-B interferometer by a time-modulated external field.

Application of real space Kerker method in simulating gate-all-around nanowire transistors with realistic discrete dopants

We adopt a self-consistent real space Kerker method to prevent the divergence from charge sloshing in the simulating transistors with realistic discrete dopants in the source and drain regions. The method achieves efficient convergence by avoiding unrealistic long range charge sloshing but keeping effects from short range charge sloshing. Numerical results show that discrete dopants in the source and drain regions could have a bigger influence on the electrical variability than the usual continuous doping without considering charge sloshing. Few discrete dopants and the narrow geometry create a situation with short range Coulomb screening and oscillations of charge density in real space. The dopants induced quasilocalized defect modes in the source region experience short range oscillations in order to reach the drain end of the device.The charging of the defect modes and the oscillations of the charge density are identified by the simulation of the electron density.

Optimal Transportation-entropy Inequalities for Several Usual Distributions on R

In this paper, based on the recent results of Cozlan and Leonard we give optimal transportation- entropy inequalities for several usual distributions on R, such as Bernoulli, Binomial, Poisson, Gamma distributions and infinitely divisible distributions with positive or negative jumps.

Time-dependent density functional theory for quantum transport

The rapid miniaturization of elect, ronic devices motivates research interests in quantum transport.Recently time-dependent quantum transport has become an important research topic. Here we re- view recent progresses in the development of time-dependent density-functional theory for quantum transport including the theoretical foundation and numerical algorithms. In particular, the reducedsingle electron density matrix based hierarchical equation of motion, which can be derived from Liouville---von Neumann equation, is reviewed in details. The numerical implementation is discussed and simulation results of realistic devices will be given.

Study of Transport Properties in Armchair Graphyne Nanoribbons: A Density Functional Approach

In present paper, the non-equilibrium Green function(NEGF) method along with the density functional theory(DFT) are used to investigate the effect of width on transport and electronic properties of armchair graphyne(γ-graphyne) nanoribbons. The results show that all the studied nanoribbons are semiconductor and their band gaps decrease as the widths of nanoribbons increase, which will result in increasing current at a certain voltage. Also our results show the promising application of armchair graphyne nanoribbons in nano-electrical devices.

Organic functional materials based buffer layers for efficient perovskite solar cells

In this review, we highlight the recent development of organic π-functional materials as buffer layers in constructing efficient perovskite solar cells（PVSCs）. By following a brief introduction on the PVSC development, device architecture and material design features, we exemplified the exciting progresses made in field by exploiting organic π-functional materials based hole and electron transport layers（HTLs and ETLs） to enable high-performance PVSCs.

Review of Lagrangian stochastic models for turbulent combustion

Predictive simulation of the combustion process in engine is crucial to understand the complex underlying physicochemical processes, improve engine performance, and reduce pollutant emissions. Key issues such as the physical modeling of the interaction between turbulence, chemistry and droplets, and the incorporation of the detailed chemistry in high-fidelity simulations of complex flows remain essential though challenging. This paper reviews the transported probability density function method for turbulent dilute spray flames in the dual-Lagrangian framework that shows potential to address some critical modeling issues. An overview is presented for the contributions made within the last decade or so for the three key ingredients for modeling the interaction between turbulence, chemistry and droplets, i.e., micro-mixing, subgrid dispersion and two-phase coupling. Then, various methods for detailed chemistry acceleration are reviewed to address the issue of high computational cost for its use in multidimensional simulations. Finally, some applications of the dual-Lagrangian method in both laboratory-scale and device-scale configurations are provided to demonstrate its capability as well as deficiency at the current stage. Some open modeling challenges are raised and recommended for further investigation.

A first-principles study of dihydroazulene as a possible optical molecular switch

By applying nonequilibrium Green's function formalism combined with first-principles density functional theory, we investigate the electronic transport properties of the dihydroazulene optical molecular switch. Three kinds of adsorption sites including the hollow, bridge and top sites are studied. The two forms of this molecule, namely the open form and the closed form, can reversibly switch from each other upon photoexcitation. Their transmission spectra are remarkably distinctive. Theoretical results show that the current of the closed form is always significantly larger than that of the open form for all three adsorption sites, which promises this system as possibly one of the good candidates for optical switches due to its unique advantage, and which may have some potential applications in the future molecular circuit.