In this paper, for the first time, the performance evaluation of negative capacitance single-active layer double-gate (NC-SALDG) TFT is presented. In the proposed NC-SALDG TFT, amorphous InGaZnO ...material is used as an active layer owing to its enhanced carrier mobility and improved optical transmittance properties. By coupling the TCAD numerical simulation with 1D Landau-Khalatnikov (LK) equation, a semi-analytical model of NC-SALDG TFT is developed. The subthreshold characteristics of NC-SALDG TFT are analyzed by varying the thickness of aluminum (Al) doped HfO
2
and different ferroelectric materials. Further, high ON current, low OFF current, and better minimum & average subthreshold swing of NC-SALDG TFT are observed for Al-doped HfO
2
material compared to its counterparts. From the result analysis, the proposed NC-SALDG TFT shows superior subthreshold performance over conventional SALDG TFT. The baseline SALDG TFT was simulated with 2D TCAD simulator Atlas™ from Silvaco.
MicroRNAs (miRs) serve important roles in the development and progression of various human cancer types, including glioma. Recently, miR-219 has been suggested to function as a tumor suppressor in ...glioma; however, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the regulatory mechanism of miR-219 in the malignant phenotypes of glioma cells. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blotting were conducted to examine the mRNA and protein expression. An MTT assay, wound healing assay and Transwell assay were used to study cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The qPCR data indicated that the expression of miR-219 was significantly decreased in glioma tissues compared with normal brain tissues. In addition, a low expression of miR-219 was identified to be associated with an advanced pathological grade. In vitro experiments demonstrated that miR-219 was also downregulated in several common glioma cell lines, including A172, U87, U251 and U373, when compared with that in normal astrocytes. Ectopic expression of miR-219 caused a significant decrease in U87 cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Luciferase reporter assay data indicated that Sal-like protein 4 (SALL4) was a direct target gene of miR-219, while the protein expression of SALL4 was negatively regulated by miR-219 in U87 cells. Furthermore, SALL4 was significantly upregulated in glioma tissues and cell lines, and upregulation of SALL4 was associated with a higher pathological grade. Furthermore, overexpression of SALL4 significantly attenuated the suppressive effects of miR-219 on U87 cell proliferation, migration and invasion, suggesting that miR-219 serves a suppressive role in glioma growth and metastasis via targeting SALL4. Therefore, the present study highlighted the clinical significance of the miR-219/SALL4 axis in glioma.
Knowledge on the structure and composition of the plant communities has enormous significance in conservation and management of forests. The present study aimed to assess the community attributes, ...viz., structure, composition and diversity in the moist and dry sal (
Shorea robusta
) forests in the West Bengal province of India and compare them with the other sal forests of India. The phytosociological data from these forests were quantitatively analysed to work out the species richness, diversity, evenness, dominance, importance value, stand density and the basal area. The analysis showed that plant richness and diversity in moist sal forests of northern West Bengal are higher than the dry sal forests of south-west Bengal; a total of 134 tree (cbh ≥30 cm), 113 shrub and 230 herb species were recorded in the moist sal forest compared to 35 tree, 41 shrub and 96 herb species in dry sal forest. Papilionaceae was observed to be the dominant family. Dry sal forests had higher tree dominance (0.81) and stand density (1,006 stems ha
−1
) but lower basal area (19.62 m
2
ha
−1
) while moist sal forest had lower tree dominance (0.18) and stand density (438 stems ha
−1
) but higher basal area (56.52 m
2
ha
−1
). Tree species richness and stem density across girth classes in both the types decreased from the smallest to largest trees, while the occurrence rate of species increased with increase in girth class. A
t
-test showed significant differences in species richness, basal area and the stand density at 95% confidence level (
p
= <0.05) in the two forest types. The CCA indicated very low overall match (canonical correlation value = 0.40) between the two sets of variables from moist and dry sal types. The differences in these forests could be attributed to the distinct variations in climatic conditions- mainly the rainfall, disturbance regimes and the management practices.
Salvinorin A, the main active component of Salvia divinorum, is a potent and selective κ opioid receptor agonist. Synthetic derivatives of this substance may be useful in the development of medicinal ...treatments for pain, mood disorders, and drug dependence. Such developments require extensive preclinical screening of these compounds. The drug discrimination assay is a valuable method for exploring potential similarities between novel compounds and known drugs of abuse with respect to their interoceptive stimulus properties, and can be used to investigate the potency of salvinorin A and its derivatives in vivo. This study used drug discrimination methods to compare two synthetic derivatives of salvinorin B, the ethoxymethyl ether (EOM-Sal B) and methoxymethyl ether (MOM-Sal B) with salvinorin A. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate 2.0 mg/kg of salvinorin A from its vehicle (75% dimethylsulfoxide/25% water) in a fixed ratio 20 food-reinforced drug discrimination procedure, and were tested for stimulus generalization with EOM-Sal B and MOM-Sal B. For comparison, substitution tests were also conducted with a μ agonist, morphine, a dissociative hallucinogen, ketamine, and two serotonergic hallucinogens, D-lysergic diethylamide (LSD) and 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane. Time-course tests were also conducted with salvinorin A and EOM-Sal B. Both EOM-Sal B and MOM-Sal B substituted fully for salvinorin A and displayed greater potency than salvinorin A. EOM-Sal B was discriminated at longer postinjection intervals than salvinorin A. Morphine and 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane failed to substitute for salvinorin A, although ketamine and LSD produced significant drug-appropriate responding. The current findings are consistent with previous reports that salvinorin A produces detectable stimulus effects that are distinct from those of other drug classes and, for the first time, establish that synthetic derivatives of this substance produce similar discriminative stimulus effects. The unexpected partial substitution with LSD and ketamine indicate that further preclinical studies of these novel κ opioid receptor agonists may be warranted.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs), a class of non-coding RNAs 18-25 nucleotides in length, act as key regulators in the development and malignant progression of various human cancers by modulating the ...expression of their target genes. Recently, miR‑16 has been demonstrated to be play a role in glioma. However, the regulatory mechanisms of miR‑16 in glioma growth and metastasis remain largely unclear. In the present study, qRT-PCR revealed that miR‑16 was significantly downregulated in 23 glioma tissue specimens compared to 7 normal brain tissue specimens. Moreover, its levels were markedly lower in the glioma samples at stages T2-T4 compared to those at stage T1. The overexpression of miR-16 significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of U251 and U87 glioma cells. Luciferase reporter assay identified Sal-like protein 4 (SALL4) as a target gene of miR‑16, and its protein levels were found to be decreased in miR‑16-overexpressing U251 and U87 cells. Furthermore, the overexpression of SALL4 significantly reversed the suppressive effects of miR‑16 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of U251 and U87 cells, suggesting that miR‑16 playsa tumor suppressor role in glioma by inhibiting cell proliferation and invasion through the targeting of SALL4. Finally, we found that SALL4 was significantly upregulated in glioma tissues compared to normal brain tissues, and its levels were markedly higher in the glioma tissues at stages T2-T4 compared to those at stage T1. In addition, the expression levels of SALL4 inversely correlated with the miR‑16 levels in glioma tissues, suggesting that the downregulation of miR‑16 contributes to the upregulation of SALL4 in glioma. On the whole, the findings of this study indicate a role for the miR‑16/SALL4 axis in glioma. Our data may also provide a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of glioma.
The International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements in 2019 marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Dmitri Mendeleev’s periodic table. The periodic table – a classificatory ...tool, educational diagram and representation of elements – has since become one of the most ubiquitous and successful productions of European science, and is to chemistry as Darwin’s theory of natural selection is to biology. The periodic table is not only found in every chemistry laboratory and high school science classroom, but has also inspired a plethora of literary and cinematic interpretations. Acclaimed works of literature such as holocaust survivor, writer and chemist Primo Levy’s The Periodic Table, as well as Oliver Sacks’s much acclaimed Uncle Tungsten were inspired by it. Elements bromine and barium form the opening credits to the TV series Breaking Bad. More recently, the periodic table has even garnered its own song in a viral YouTube video.Aside from being an educational, organisational and predictive tool for aspiring and professional chemists, the periodic table is also a highly mediated record of the history of chemistry: the elements are named to commemorate its long genesis. Reflecting its indebtedness to ancient Greek alchemists, helium takes its name from Helios, god of the sun. Promethium is named after Prometheus, who stole heavenly fire and gave it to human beings – a substance without which the discipline of chemistry would never have existed. Nihonium was named in honour of Japan, the nationality of the team of scientists who first observed it. Americium, francium, darmstadtium and californium among others, likewise, take their names from places in which they were discovered, or that their discoverers wished to commemorate. Some elements have been named after individuals who made major contributions to chemistry, such as Glenn Seaborg, Albert Einstein, Nils Bohr, Ernest Rutherford, Alfred Nobel and, of course, Mendeleev.
Gamification is correlated with increased motivation and engagement of learners and is increasingly being incorporated into library instruction. Opportunities for librarians to learn and practice ...principles of gamification can be helpful for those desiring to incorporate gamification into instruction. This report describes the development and delivery of an interactive special content session at MLA '18, the 2018 Medical Library Association annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, focusing on principles of low-tech game design for health sciences library classroom instruction.
The special content session, titled "Design, Play, Learn: A Special Content Session to Design a Game for Database Instruction," was designed and delivered using multimodal instruction (e.g., flipped classroom, didactic component, active learning) that also incorporated principles of design thinking. A pre- and post-survey was given to all participants at the beginning and end of the session to measure confidence and desire to incorporate gamification into instruction and as a formative feedback indicator for instructors. Participants reported increased confidence and desire to use games for library instruction after participating in the session. A selection of games was uploaded to a shared content folder designed for course participants as an ongoing repository for ideas and communication.
For librarians who are interested in incorporating principles of gamification into library instruction, attending a relatively short hands-on workshop can facilitate learning and confidence around prototyping and creating games for use in library instruction. We intend to improve upon the workshop and offer it again in additional contexts, based on direct observations of the session and participant feedback.
CubeSats and Small Satellites Straub, Jeremy; Swartwout, Michael; Nunes, Miguel ...
International Journal of Aerospace Engineering,
2019, Letnik:
2019
Journal Article
PDF
