Using nine biannual waves (1998–2014) from the Health and Retirement Study, this study employed fixed-effects models to estimate the relationship between cancer and changes in financial status, ...measured by liquidity, solvency, and investment ratios. Results show that cancer survivors in the initial stage of cancer care increased their emergency fund equivalent to 15 days of living expenses, along with an increase in their debt to asset ratio by 0.8%, and a decrease of investment asset to net worth ratio by 0.4%. Furthermore, two additional years of post-cancer care and rehabilitation lead to an increase of five more days in emergency cash need and a decrease in investment asset to net worth ratio by 0.3%.
Liquid entry pressure (LEP) is a method for evaluating resistance to wetting by gradually increasing the pressure on the membrane in contact with the liquid. Despite the potential impact of pressure ...increase rate on LEP value determination, there is a scarcity of related research. In this study, the relationship between membrane characteristics and LEP value was analyzed by increasing the pressure by 0.1 bar at intervals ranging from 10 s to 30 min, using solutions with or without 1 mM SDS. In addition, the wetting phenomenon in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) and the duration to resist water penetration at a certain pressure were evaluated using LEP and membrane characteristics. As the rate of pressure increase accelerated, the measured LEP value tended to rise, showing a relatively wide range of variation for the same membrane. To ensure the efficiency and reproducibility of LEP measurements, it is recommended to increase the pressure at 5-min intervals. While the durability of resistance to water penetration under relatively high pressure was greatly influenced by membrane thickness, membrane hydrophobicity was more crucial for preventing the wetting phenomenon in DCMD.
•Relatively fast rates of pressure increase can lead to excessive LEP values and their variation.•5-min interval is recommended for the efficiency and reproducibility of LEP measurement.•The comparison of experimental LEP values using the theoretical equation is reasonable.•Thickness impacts the durability of resistance to water penetration at high pressures.•In DCMD, membrane wetting is governed by membrane hydrophobicity rather than LEP.
We measured and demonstrated the great advantages of embedded film capacitors in reducing power/ground inductive impedance and the suppression of SSN at frequencies up to 3 GHz for high-performance ...multilayer packages and PCBs. Eight-layer test PCBs were fabricated, and their inductive power/ground network impedances were measured as a function of film thickness, via distribution, and combined use with discrete decoupling capacitors, using a two-port self-impedance measurement method. This successfully demonstrated that the power/ground inductive impedance was reduced from 270 pH to 106 pH simply by using an embedded film capacitor instead of 16 discrete decoupling capacitors.
Mutations in N-RAS and B-RAF, which commonly occur in melanomas, result in constitutive activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) ...signaling. Active ERK increases expression and activity of the c-Jun transcription factor, linking ERK and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) cascades. Here, we show that c-Jun regulates transcription of phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) with a concomitant impact on Akt and protein kinase C (PKC) activity and related substrates. Inhibition of c-Jun reduces PDK1 expression and attenuates Akt and PKC activity, which can be restored by exogenous PDK1. c-Jun regulation of PDK1 in melanoma contributes to growth rate and the ability to form tumors in mice. Correspondingly, increased levels of c-Jun in melanoma cell lines coincide with up-regulation of PDK1 and phosphorylation of PKC and Akt. The identification of c-Jun as a transcriptional regulator of PDK1 expression highlights key mechanisms underlying c-Jun oncogenic activity, and provides new insight into the nature of up-regulated Akt and PKC in melanoma.
Sri Lanka has a rapidly aging population in South Asia, but little attention is given to financial preparedness for retirement. This study expects to provide an overview of the current retirement ...system in Sri Lanka and investigate financial and pension literacy's role in retirement preparedness. This study administered an online survey to study retirement preparedness subjectively (n = 142) and objectively (n = 115) among the EPF contributors. This non-experimental study uses an online survey to assess financial and pension literacy's roles in retirement preparedness. This study used ordered logistic (Ologit) regressions and ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to test the two hypotheses. Results indicate a positive and statistically significant association between financial (only objective measure) and pension literacy and retirement preparedness. However, another study shows no synergy effect between financial and pension literacy. Conclusively, drawing policymakers' attention to diversifying EPF investments, including financial and pension literacy concepts in workplace workshops and studying pension literacy and retirement preparedness in different samples.
Electrical stimulation using implantable electrodes is widely used to treat various neuronal disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy and is a widely used research tool in neuroscience ...studies. However, to date, devices that help better understand the mechanisms of electrical stimulation in neural tissues have been limited to opaque neural electrodes. Imaging spatiotemporal neural responses to electrical stimulation with minimal artifact could allow for various studies that are impossible with existing opaque electrodes. Here, we demonstrate electrical brain stimulation and simultaneous optical monitoring of the underlying neural tissues using carbon-based, fully transparent graphene electrodes implanted in GCaMP6f mice. Fluorescence imaging of neural activity for varying electrical stimulation parameters was conducted with minimal image artifact through transparent graphene electrodes. In addition, full-field imaging of electrical stimulation verified more efficient neural activation with cathode leading stimulation compared to anode leading stimulation. We have characterized the charge density limitation of capacitive four-layer graphene electrodes as 116.07–174.10 μC/cm2 based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, failure bench testing, and in vivo testing. This study demonstrates the transparent ability of graphene neural electrodes and provides a method to further increase understanding and potentially improve therapeutic electrical stimulation in the central and peripheral nervous systems.
The direct hydroformylation of trisubstituted olefins has been achieved with a combination of a Rh(I) catalyst and a π-acceptor phosphorus (briphos) ligand. A sterically bulky briphos ligand with a ...large cone angle that forms a 1:1 complex with Rh(I) is found to be reactive for the hydroformylation of trisubstituted olefins. The aldehyde products were obtained with high diastereoselectivity (>99:1) and regioselectivity (49%–81%).
Gold can be deposited onto a latex particle surface via the growth of metal islands with the electroless plating method. A new method is proposed for the electroless plating of gold on the surface of ...poly(styrene-co-vinylimidazole) latex particles, which is catalyzed by palladium present on the latex particle surfaces. The palladium ions are anchored to the latex particle surfaces by the formation of a palladium-imidazole complex, and palladium nanoparticles are nucleated by a reductant. These palladium islands act as catalytic sites, so gold is preferentially deposited onto the latex particle surfaces. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and sucrose density gradient column results indicate that the palladium is associated with the imidazole-functionalized latex particles. Different gold loading levels and reductant types were explored. Latex particles were partially encapsulated by finely dispersed gold nanoparticles less than 2 nm in diameter or by gold islands with sizes ranging from 10 to 100 nm up to a gold loading level of 3.1 mg of Au/m² of latex. However, using higher gold loading levels led to uncontrollable electroless plating of gold because gold reduction in the water phase became very dominant even in the presence of catalytic palladium on the latex particle surface.
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