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In this work, scalable fabrication of self-assembled GeSn vertical nanowires (NWs) based on rapid thermal annealing (RTA) and inductively coupled-plasma (ICP) dry etching was proposed. After thermal treatment of molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown GeSn, self-assembled Sn nanodots (NDs) were formed on surface and the spontaneous emission from GeSn direct band was enhanced by ∼5-fold. Employing the self-assembled Sn NDs as template, vertical GeSn NWs with a diameter of 25 ± 6 nm and a density of 2.8 × 109 cm−2 were obtained by Cl-based ICP dry etching technique. A prototype GeSn NW photodetector (PD) with rapid switching ability was demonstrated and the optoelectronic performance of Ge NW PD was systematically studied. The GeSn NW PD exhibited an ultralow dark current density of ∼33 nA/cm2 with a responsivity of 0.245 A/W and a high specific detectivity of 2.40 × 1012 cm Hz1/2 W−1 at 1550 nm under −1 V at 77 K. The results prove that this method is prospective for low-cost and scalable fabrication of GeSn NWs, which are promising for near infrared or short wavelength infrared nanophotonic devices.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to identify the biological variation of ten cardiovascular biochemical markers in T2DM patients to aid in their interpretation.Blood samples for evaluating ten biomarkers were collected biweekly from 23 T2DM patients (10 men, 13 women) for three months. The analytical variability and variations of within-subject (CVThe levels of total cholesterol (CHOL), apolipoprotein A (apoA), homocysteine (HCY), high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) differed between males and females (P 0.05). The CVThe cardiovascular biochemical markers in T2DM patients showed higher CV

Background Risk management strategies have been proposed for applications in clinical laboratories to reduce patient risks; however, effective and visual risk-monitoring tools are currently lacking in medical laboratories. In this study, we constructed a risk quality control (QC) chart based on risk management strategies. Methods We calculated the risk levels of QC materials based on Bayes' theorem by combining the total allowable error, QC results, and the maximum number of unacceptable errors in the laboratory. Then, we constructed a risk QC chart by presenting the Z values and corresponding risk levels of QC materials simultaneously. Finally, we evaluated the risk-monitoring capabilities of the risk QC charts by simulating different long-term errors in the laboratory. Results The risk levels of QC materials increased as the QC results moved further away from the set mean. Larger sigma values led to fewer risks obtained for the same QC results. The constructed risk QC charts intuitively showed specific risk levels and could warn lab staff out-of-control, without the need for QC rules to make judgments. The risk levels of erroneous results differed for items with different sigma performance. Conclusions Risk-based QC charts allowed visualization of the QC results and specific risk levels simultaneously, providing more intuitive results than those obtained from traditional QC charts.

To verify the priming effects of Maillard reaction precursors on the microbial decomposition of rice straw at different incubation temperatures, the method of indoor incubation at a constant temperature was adopted. In the process, the addition of glucose, catechol or glycine solution alone or in mixed solution was conducted at incubation temperatures of 10 °C, 15 °C and 28 °C, respectively. The C content of humic-extracted acid (CHLE), humification index (the ratio of C content of humic-like acid to fulvic-like acid, CHLA/CFLA), ∆logK value of humic-like acid (HLA), and C content of humin-like acid (CHLu) were dynamically analyzed at 0, 30, 60, and 90 d, respectively. At the same time, the differences in the atomic ratio and FTIR spectra before and after incubation were systematically analyzed. The results showed that (1) the additions of glucose alone and mixed precursors were both beneficial to increasing the CHLE content at three tested temperatures, especially at two low temperatures (10 °C and 15 °C), and glucose alone manifested the most significant improvement in CHLE. In contrast, following the addition of glycine alone, the CHLE content decreased by 2.4% at 15 °C and 4.6% at 28 °C after incubation. (2) Glucose as the sole precursor was more beneficial to improving the quality of the humic substance (HS) at 28 °C, but only enhanced the condensation degree of HLA molecules at 15 °C. Compared with the results at 15 °C and 28 °C, the HLA molecules had the lowest condensation degree at 10 °C, regardless of whether a single precursor or mixed Maillard precursors were used. (3) After incubation, the amounts of N compounds in the HLA molecules decreased to varying degrees, especially at 28 °C. The O-containing functional groups, such as carboxyl groups, from HLA molecules decreased following the addition of a single precursor, while the mixed precursors resulted in an increase in O-containing functional groups. Increasing the catechol content directly enriched the unsaturated bonds of HLA. With the decomposition of rice straw, regardless of how the precursors were added, the polysaccharide content decreased to different degrees. The decomposition of polysaccharides in HLA was more temperature-sensitive, and an increase in temperature might encourage more polysaccharide consumption. Under each temperature, the molecular structure of HLA was simplified initially and then gradually became complex. Finally, the addition of glucose alone at 15 °C was more favorable for the complexity of HLA molecules, while at 28 °C, it could only alleviate the degree of simplification of the HLA molecular structure to a certain extent. (4) At the three tested temperatures, compared with the CK control, either one precursor or a mixture of three precursors could more effectively promote the decomposition of CHLu. Under the conditions of 10 °C and 15 °C, the addition of mixed precursors was more beneficial to the decomposition of CHLu, causing the CHLu content to decrease by 37.9% and 44.7%, respectively, followed by the addition of glucose alone.

In this paper, an adaptive modified weak Galerkin (AMWG) method is considered to solve second-order elliptic problem. Under the assumption of a penalty parameter, by showing reliability of error estimator, comparison of solutions and reduction of error estimator, the sum of the energy error and the scaled error estimator, between two consecutive adaptive loops, is proved to be a contraction, namely, the adaptive algorithm is convergent. Numerical experiments are implemented to support the theoretical results.

In the present work, the impact of ZrO2 gate dielectric thickness on the electrical performance of TiO2 thin film transistors (TFTs) is systematically investigated. Exhaustive electrical measuremen...

Insulin sensitizers targeting insulin receptors (IR) are a potential drug for the treatment of diabetes. Serpentine is an alkaloid component in the root of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. Serpentine screened by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology has the ability to target IR. The objective of this study was to investigate whether serpentine could modulate the role of insulin in regulating blood glucose through insulin receptors in cells and in animal models of diabetes. SPR technology was used to detect the affinity of different concentrations of serpentine with insulin receptors. The Western blotting method was used to detect the expression levels of key proteins of the insulin signaling pathway in C2C12 cells and 3T3-L1 cells as well as in muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue of diabetic mice after serpentine and insulin treatment. Diabetic mice were divided into four groups and simultaneously injected with insulin or serpentine, and the blood glucose concentration and serum levels of insulin, glucagon, and C-peptide were measured 150 min later. mRNA levels of genes related to lipid metabolism and glucose metabolism in liver, muscle, and subcutaneous adipose tissue were detected by RT-PCR. Serpentine was able to bind to the extracellular domain of IR with an affinity of 2.883 × 10−6 M. Serpentine combined with insulin significantly enhanced the ability of insulin to activate the insulin signaling pathway and significantly enhanced the glucose uptake capacity of C2C12 cells. Serpentine enhanced the ability of low-dose insulin (1 nM) and normal-dose insulin (100 nM) to activate the insulin signaling pathway. Serpentine also independently activated AMPK phosphorylation, thus stimulating glucose uptake by C2C12 cells. In high-fat-diet/streptozotocin (HFD/STZ)-induced diabetic mice, serpentine significantly prolonged the hypoglycemic time of insulin, significantly reduced the use of exogenous insulin, and inhibited endogenous insulin secretion. In addition, serpentine alone significantly increased the expression of GSK-3β mRNA in muscle tissue, thus enhancing glucose uptake, and at the same time, serpentine significantly increased glucagon secretion and liver gluconeogenesis. Serpentine enhances the ability of insulin to regulate blood glucose through the insulin receptor, and can also regulate blood glucose alone, but it has a negative regulation mechanism and cannot produce a hypoglycemic effect. Therefore, serpentine may be useful as an insulin sensitizer to assist insulin to lower blood glucose.

MYOC mutations are the leading genetic causes of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). We previously identified a recurrent Gly367Arg mutant myocilin (MYOC/p.G367R) associated with juvenile open-angle glaucoma (JOAG) in a large Chinese family, but the pathogenic mechanism remains unclear. The MYOC/p.G367R carrier presented a high intraocular pressure and typic POAG phenotype, including an open anterior angle, a thinning retina nerve fiber layer, and a tubular visual field. Trabecular meshwork (TM) cell lines (iHTMCs) and primary TM cells (pHTMCs) expressing wild-type or mutant (G367R) myocilin were constructed to further verify the disease-causing roles of MYOC/p.G367R mutation in the TM. The G367R mutant had no effect on cytoskeletal arrangement or fibronectin production. Consistently, the combination of G367R-myocilin with the chaperones Grp94 and CRYAB impaired the intracellular degradation mechanism and caused aggregation of myocilin in the ER. The excessive accumulation of mutated myocilin in the ER resulted in chronic ER stress, and apoptosis. Moreover, autophagy plays an essential role in regulating the pathogenesis of MYOC mutations. Rapamycin activated autophagy and decreased intracellular myocilin accumulation. Chloroquine inhibited autophagy and promoted intracellular myocilin retention, exacerbating ER stress and oxidative stress in TM cells. Meanwhile, the retinal cell line 661W was used to study the effect of MYOC/p.G367R mutation in retinal cells. Similar to TM cells, the autophagic activity of 661W cells expressing G367R-myocilin was inhibited. In addition, MYOC/p.G367R mutation induced mitochondrial dysfunction and promoted superoxide onion generation in 661W cells. Together, our findings suggest that G367R mutant myocilin induces cell dysfunction of the TM and retina through excessive intracellular accumulation of mutant myocilin caused by impairment of protein clearance mechanisms. Furthermore, autophagy may serve as a therapeutic target to promote the degradation of mutant myocilin and alleviate cell dysfunction.

Purpose: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to combine the data available from clinical trials and evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of tirzepatide in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).Methods: We systematically searched the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and clinical trials registries (https://clinicaltrials.gov) up to 25 March 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared tirzepatide with placebo or active hypoglycemic drugs in subjects with T2D. Heterogeneity was judged by the I2 value and Cochran’s Q test. The randomized effects model was adopted to calculate risk ratios and weighted mean differences (WMDs). The primary outcome was the change from baseline in HbA1c levels. Secondary efficacy endpoints were fasting serum glucose (FSG), change of body weight, blood pressure, fasting lipid profiles, and safety indexes.Results: Six trials comprising 6,579 subjects (4,410 in the tirzepatide group and 2,054 in the control group) fulfilled the pre-specified criteria and were included in the study. Tirzepatide treatment resulted in reducing HbA1c (WMD: -1.07%; 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: −1.44, −0.56), FSG (WMD, −21.50 mg/dl; 95% CI: −34.44, −8.56), body weight (WMD: −7.99 kg; 95% CI −11.36, −4.62), and blood pressure and ameliorated fasting lipid profiles, without increasing hypoglycemia, either as monotherapy or an add-on therapy. Tirzepatide increased the risk of gastrointestinal adverse events mainly in add-on therapy but not in terms of pancreatitis or cholelithiasis. Furthermore, tirzepatide presented a dose–response effect on the reduction in HbA1c and body weight and increase in nausea and vomiting.Conclusion: In patients with type 2 diabetes, tirzepatide shows superior blood glucose control and weight loss performance, without an increased risk of hypoglycemia.Systematic Review Registration: (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO), identifier (CRD42022319442).

An enhancement of the electrical performance of the InAlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is demonstrated by the incorporation of post bis(trifluoromethane) sulfonamide (TFSI) treatment. The surface treatment of TFSI solution results in the increase of 2DEG electron mobility from 1180 to 1500 cm2/Vs and thus a reduction of on-state resistance and an increase in transconductance. The results indicate that the positive charge of H+ will decrease the polarization charges of the InAlN barrier under the access region due to the converse piezoelectric effect, leading to the reduced polarization Coulomb field (PCF) scattering in InAlN/GaN HEMT. This offers a possible way to improve the electron mobility and device performance of InAlN/GaN HEMTs for further application.

Dysregulated iron homeostasis plays an important role in the hepatic manifestation of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). We investigated the causal effects of five iron metabolism markers, regular iron supplementation and MAFLD risk.Genetic summary statistics were obtained from open genome-wide association study databases. Two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis was performed to estimate the causal effect between iron status and MAFLD, including Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted, weighted median methods and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression. The Mendelian randomization-PRESSO outlier test, Cochran's Q test and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression were used to assess outliers, heterogeneity and pleiotropy respectively.Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted results showed that the genetically predicted per standard deviation increase in liver iron (Data set 2: odds ratio 1.193, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.074-1.326, p = .001) was associated with an increased MAFLD risk, consistent with the weighted median estimates and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression, although Data set 1 was not significant. Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted analysis showed that genetically predicted MAFLD was significantly associated with increased serum ferritin levels in both datasets (Dataset 1: β = .038, 95% CI = .014 to .062, p = .002; Dataset 2: β = .081, 95% CI = .025 to .136, p = .004), and a similar result was observed with the weighted median methods for Dataset 2 instead of Mendelian randomization-Egger regression.This study uncovered genetically predicted causal associations between iron metabolism status and MAFLD. These findings underscore the need for improved guidelines for managing MAFLD risk by emphasizing hepatic iron levels as a risk factor and ferritin levels as a prognostic factor.

To evaluate the impact of stress hyperglycemia on the in-hospital prognosis in non-surgical patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes.We identified non-surgical hospitalized patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes from a large electronic medical record-based database of diabetes in China (WECODe) from 2011 to 2019. We estimated stress hyperglycemia using the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) and its equation, say admission blood glucose/[(28.7 × HbA1c)- 46.7]. The primary outcomes included the composite cardiac events (combination of death during hospitalization, requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cardiogenic shock, and the new episode of acute heart failure during hospitalization), major acute kidney injury (AKI stage 2 or 3), and major systemic infection.Of 2875 eligible Chinese adults, SHR showed U-shaped associations with composite cardiac events, major AKI, and major systemic infection. People with SHR in the third tertile (vs those with SHR in the second tertile) presented higher risks of composite cardiac events ([odds ratio, 95% confidence interval] 1.89, 1.26 to 2.87) and major AKI (1.86, 1.01 to 3.54). In patients with impaired kidney function at baseline, both SHR in the first and third tertiles anticipated higher risks of major AKI and major systemic infection.Both high and low SHR indicates poor prognosis during hospitalization in non-surgical patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes.

Due to the low cost and the scaling capability of Si substrate, InAlN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) on silicon substrate have attracted more and more attentions. In this paper, a high-performance 50-nm-gate-length InAlN/GaN HEMT on Si with a high on/off current (Ion/Ioff) ratio of 7.28 × 106, an average subthreshold swing (SS) of 72 mV/dec, a low drain-induced barrier lowing (DIBL) of 88 mV, an off-state three-terminal breakdown voltage (BVds) of 36 V, a current/power gain cutoff frequency (fT/fmax) of 140/215 GHz, and a Johnson’s figure-of-merit (JFOM) of 5.04 THz V is simultaneously demonstrated. The device extrinsic and intrinsic parameters are extracted using equivalent circuit model, which is verified by the good agreement between simulated and measured S-parameter values. Then the scaling behavior of InAlN/GaN HEMTs on Si is predicted using the extracted extrinsic and intrinsic parameters of devices with different gate lengths (Lg). It presents that a fT/fmax of 230/327 GHz can be achieved when Lg scales down to 20 nm with the technology developed in the study, and an improved fT/fmax of 320/535 GHz can be achieved on a 20-nm-gate-length InAlN/GaN HEMT with regrown ohmic contact technology and 30% decreased parasitic capacitance. This study confirms the feasibility of further improvement of InAlN/GaN HEMTs on Si for RF applications.

Drawing on the novel-to-the-field rice theory, we study how subnational cultural heterogeneity impacts target performance improvement following an acquisition. Data from domestic acquisitions in the Chinese beer industry show performance is significantly impacted by cultural characteristics formulated through agricultural subsistence activities. We find that both cultural similarity and dissimilarity influence performance: (1) in transactions in which both the acquirer and target are located in rice culture regions, targets achieve greater performance improvement than in those in which both firms are located in a wheat culture region, and (2) targets located in wheat culture areas bought by acquirers from a rice culture area gain greater performance improvement than rice culture targets acquired by firms from a wheat culture area. We also find that acquirers’ experience with rice targets is less beneficial than their experience with wheat targets.

Objective To identify differentially expressed and clinically significant mRNAs and construct a potential prediction model for metabolic steatohepatitis (MASH). Method We downloaded four microarray datasets, GSE89632, GSE24807, GSE63067, and GSE48452, from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis were performed to screen significant genes. Finally, we constructed a nomogram of six hub genes in predicting MASH and assessed it through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration plot, and decision curve analysis (DCA). In addition, qRT-PCR was used for relative quantitative detection of RNA in QSG-7011 cells to further verify the expression of the selected mRNA in fatty liver cells. Results Based on common DEGs and brown and yellow modules, seven hub genes were identified, which were NAMPT, PHLDA1, RALGDS, GADD45B, FOSL2, RTP3, and RASD1. After logistic regression analysis, six hub genes were used to establish the nomogram, which were NAMPT, RALGDS, GADD45B, FOSL2, RTP3, and RASD1. The area under the ROC of the nomogram was 0.897. The DCA showed that when the threshold probability of MASH was 0–0.8, the prediction model was valuable to GSE48452. In QSG-7011 fatty liver model cells, the relative expression levels of NAMPT, GADD45B, FOSL2, RTP3, RASD1 and RALGDS were lower than the control group. Conclusion We identified seven hub genes NAMPT, PHLDA1, RALGDS, GADD45B, FOSL2, RTP3, and RASD1. The nomogram showed good performance in the prediction of MASH and it had clinical utility in distinguishing MASH from simple steatosis.

We report one-volt TiO2 thin film transistors (TFTs) with a low-temperature fabrication process. The TFTs with the 300 °C-annealed TiO2 channel exhibit a high on/off current ratio ( $\text{I}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}}/\text{I}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}})$ of $5.4\times 10^{7}$ , a low subthreshold swing (SS) of 75 mV/dec and a saturation field effect mobility ( $\mu _{{\mathrm {sat}}}$ ) of 2.13 cm $^{2}\cdot V^{-1}\cdot s^{-1}$ under an ultra-low voltage of 1 V. In contrast, the TFTs with the 200 °C-annealed TiO2 channel show no appreciable currents. Such a distinct conductivity difference is attributed to the crystallinity transformation of stoichiometric TiO2, the charge transport of which can be well explained by the multiple-trapping-and-release (MTR) model. The channel/dielectric interfaces of these one-volt TiO2 TFTs are further investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), multi-frequency ( ${f}$ ) capacitance-voltage (C-V), and conductance-voltage (G-V) measurements. The interface trap density ( $\text{D}_{{\mathrm {it}}}$ ) values of $\sim 5\times 10^{12}$ cm $^{-2}\cdot {\mathrm {eV}}^{-1}$ obtained from both C-V and G-V measurements are in good agreement, suggesting a high-quality channel/dielectric interface. These one-volt TiO2 TFTs show a great potential in emerging applications, such as foldable displays and wearable sensors, where a battery-powered operation is required.

Device surface properties are critical for its performance such as channel electron density, leakage current, subthreshold swing (SS), and noise in gallium nitride high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs). In this article, the improved surface property of InAlN/GaN HEMTs with forming gas (FG, 5% H2, and 95% N2) annealing is demonstrated. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) show that the number of Ga–O bonds decreases while that of the Ga–N bonds increases, an indication of the surface native oxide removal after FG annealing. Compared with N2 annealing, an increase of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) electron density with FG annealing is determined by both energy band simulation and capacitance–voltage measurement. Transmission line measurement (TLM) shows that N2 annealing offers a lower ohmic contact resistance ( ${R}_{\text {C}}$ ) while FG annealing features a lower sheet resistance ( ${R}_{\text {sheet}}$ ). Herein, a FG/N2 two-step ohmic contact annealing is developed to achieve a SS of 110 mV/dec, a transconductance ( ${g}_{\text {m}}$ ) peak of 415 mS/mm, a record low drain-induced barrier lowing (DIBL) of 65 mV/V, and a record high power gain cutoff frequency ( ${f}_{\text {max}}$ ) of 270 GHz on a 50-nm InAlN/GaN HEMT on Si.

Two-stroke spark ignition (SI) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) engines do not allow heavy knock and require a certain knock safety margin. However, weak knock can help the engine increase power output and reduce fuel consumption. To accurately extract the knock characteristics of engine vibration signals under the condition of weak knock, a signal feature extraction method based on the Mallat decomposition algorithm was proposed. Mallat decomposition algorithm can decompose the signal into two parts: a low-frequency signal and a high-frequency noise signal. The decomposed high-frequency noise is eliminated, and the low-frequency signal is retained as the characteristic domain signal. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The engine vibration signal of a two-stroke SI UAV engine was decomposed into the low-frequency signal and the high-frequency signal by the Mallat decomposition algorithm. The low-frequency signal is taken as the knock characteristic domain signal component, and the wavelet packet energy method is used to verify the correctness of the obtained signal component. The relative energy parameter is calculated by using the knock characteristic domain signal component, which can be used as the determination index of knock intensity. This method provides a reference for the weak knock control of two-stroke SI UAV engines.

As an important device in flexible and wearable microelectronics, flexible sensors have gained a lot of attention due to their wide application in human motion monitoring, human–computer interactions and healthcare fields. The preparation of flexible sensors with superior sensing performance and a simple process is still a challenging goal pursued by scientific researchers all over the world. The emerging two-dimensional (2D) Ti3C2Tx MXene material, having the characteristics of high metallic conductivity, good flexibility, excellent dispersibility and hydrophilicity, is suitable for flexible sensors as a conductive sensing material. In this review, the preparation strategies of Ti3C2Tx are summarized. Combined with its research progress in flexible sensors, the preparation methods, sensing performance, working mechanism and applications of Ti3C2Tx flexible sensors with different device architectures are reviewed.

Germanium tin (GeSn) with a Sn content of >12% has a great potential for optoelectronic devices due to its direct bandgap property. In this work, the anisotropic etching of GeSn with Sn content of 12.5% and selective etching of Ge over GeSn were explored by inductively couple plasma (ICP) dry etching to obtain various microstructures. Through adding oxygen into chlorine and argon and adjusting the process pressure, the anisotropic etching of GeSn was optimized with an ideal sidewall angle of 89o. The optimized process is compatible with both positive and negative resists. By altering the ICP power, Ge etching recipes with low and high etching rates were developed, which are favorable for fabricating GeSn nano- and micro-structures, respectively. An etching selectivity of >126 for Ge over GeSn with Sn content of >10% can be achieved. With the optimized dry etching recipes, suspended GeSn microribbons and microdisks were realized. Ultimately, the suspended GeSn microstructures were transferred onto 40-nm-thick ZrO2 on p+-Si to form a GeSn-on-insulator (GeSnOI) substrate. For a fabricated 45-nm-thick Ge0.875Sn0.125OI back-gated transistor, the subthreshold swing (SS) of 240 mV/dec is reasonably low for a non-optimized device, suggesting that the explored dry etching methods are promising for device processing.

This study examines how target opaqueness and the acquirer’s cross-listing in a developed financial market impact the alignment between the stock market’s initial reaction to an M&A deal announcement and the acquirer’s post-M&A performance by affecting the level of information asymmetry between acquirers’ managers and stock market investors. We hypothesize that target opaqueness weakens, whereas the acquirer’s cross-listing enhances, the alignment between the initial stock market reaction and the acquirer’s post-acquisition performance. Additionally, the weakening effect of target opaqueness is smaller when the acquirer is cross-listed in a financially more developed market. From a sample of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals made by Chinese acquirers, we find that the alignment between the initial stock market reaction and acquirer’s post-acquisition performance is weakened when the targets are private, high-tech, or foreign, while being strengthened when the acquirers are cross-listed in Hong Kong stock exchanges. Further, the weakening effects of private, high-tech, or foreign targets are smaller when the acquirers are cross-listed. This study contributes to the M&A literature by examining factors that moderate the alignment between stock market’s ex-ante valuation of M&A deals and the ex-post performance of those deals.

We have experimentally investigated the impact of vertical and lateral scaling on low-field electron mobility (µ) in InAlN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs). It is found that µ reduces as InAlN barrier (TB) and gate length (LG) scale down but increases with the scaled source–drain distance (LSD). Polarization Coulomb Field (PCF) scattering is believed to account for the scaling-dependent electron mobility characteristic. The polarization charge distribution is modulated with the vertical and lateral scaling, resulting in the changes in µ limited by PCF scattering. The mobility characteristic shows that PCF scattering should be considered when devices scale down, which is significant for the device design and performance improvement for RF applications.

Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging economies has emerged as a significant phenomenon in global markets. However, extant research has not paid sufficient attention to this trend. Particularly, there is a lack of understanding of how SMEs’ internal resources may interact with their domestic institutional environment in driving OFDI. Drawing on the resource-based view and the institutional theory, this study fills this gap and examines how research and development (R&D) intensity influences OFDI frequency of SMEs from China, one of the largest emerging economies, and the moderating effects of coercive pressure, normative support, and mimetic force from SMEs’ domestic, regional institutional environment. Using a sample of 2620 Chinese SMEs publicly-listed on the Chinese Growth Enterprise Market during 2010–2017, we find that R&D intensity can be viewed as a key strategic resource that drives Chinese SMEs’ OFDI frequency and that three factors in their regional institutional environment (regional marketization, ties to industry associations, and peer OFDI frequency in the region) strengthen the relationship between R&D intensity and SMEs’ OFDI. This study contributes to the literature on SMEs’ OFDI by demonstrating the importance of combining the resource-based view and institutional theory to examine the roles played by both SMEs’ internal resources and their domestic institutional environment in driving their OFDI activities in emerging economies.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the status of Vitamin D deficiency and the effect of environmental factors on Vitamin D levels so as to provide theoretical support for public health promotion in this region. Methods A total of 22,387 subjects who underwent a physical examination at the center in the West China Hospital, Sichuan University, between April, 2018 and May, 2020 were enrolled in this study. Their data on gender, age, inspection date, serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH) D), parathyroid hormone (PTH), and total calcium were retrospectively reviewed. Next, the percentage of Vitamin D status was compared in different sex and age groups, and the fluctuation of Vitamin D level was described in relation to the change of environment. Finally, the univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to explore the risk and protective factors of Vitamin D deficiency. Results The proportion of Vitamin D deficiency in this area was 42.17%, and it was significantly higher among women and young people. The fluctuation trend of 25-(OH) D levels are consistent with temperature and solar radiation, and opposite to air quality, in the whole year. There was a positive relationship between 25-(OH) D levels with temperature and solar radiation; however, parathyroid hormone, female and AQI were negatively correlated with Vitamin D levels. Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency is common in subtropic areas, such as Sichuan Basin, which is related to solar radiation and air pollution.

In this paper, we introduce and analyze H(div)-conforming finite element methods for a nonlinear model in poroelasticity. More precisely, the flow variables are discretized by H(div)-conforming mixed finite elements, while the elastic displacement is approximated by the H(div)-conforming finite element with the interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin formulation. Optimal a priori error estimates are derived for both semidiscrete and fully discrete schemes.

In this letter, a subthreshold swing (SS) of sub-60 mV/dec is for the first time observed in InAlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HMETs). With a 40-nm gate length ( ${L} _{{\text {g}}}$ ), an average SS of 30 mV/dec over three orders of magnitude in drain current ( I d) and a minimum point-by-point SS of 15 mV/dec are achieved. The transistor body factor ( m ) of 4.99/6.98 (in forward/reverse sweep) determined from temperature-variation measurements indicates that the sub-60 mV/dec SS characteristic is not attributed to the negative capacitance effect. The negative differential resistance (NDR) of gate current ( I g) is observed and the hot electron transfer from channel to gate is believed to account for the sub-60 mV/dec SS characteristic. It is further confirmed by the fact that, SS decreases as drain-source voltage ( V ds) increases and L g decreases. Due to the increased V ds and decreased $L_{\text {g,}}$ the channel lateral electric field is strengthened, leading to the hot electron formation and thus the enhanced effect of hot electron transfer on the SS. This sub-60 mV/dec SS characteristic in the nanoscale devices shows the great potential of the InAlN/GaN HEMTs to be applied in future logic switches.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effect of chief executive officers (CEOs’) global experience (GE) on the Chinese firms’ outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) and provides new insights on how CEOs’ foreign study and education experiences may affect firms’ OFDI. Further, this paper examines whether CEO power and state ownership have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between CEOs’ GE and firms’ OFDI.Design/methodology/approachThis study used panel data of Chinese manufacturing companies in 2007-2016 to examine different hypotheses. The authors tested them using a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model to shed light on the effect of CEOs’ GE on the firms’ OFDI.FindingsThis study found that CEOs’ GE generally promotes Chinese firms’ OFDI. CEOs’ foreign study experience has a stronger effect than foreign education experience. Further, CEO power and state ownership have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between CEOs’ GE and firms’ OFDI.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings have two important implications for managers and policy-makers. First, globally experienced CEOs are vital for firms to succeed in today’s highly competitive global environment. Second, CEO power is important in firms’ OFDI decision-making.Originality/valueThe authors use path dependency and upper echelons theories to show that GE, particularly foreign study experience, enables CEOs to take advantage of available resources in the market and institutional environment to create a path for the firm to expand globally.

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare vascular tumor of uncertain biologic behavior. Most cases come out as a single lesion of the soft tissue but also may appear in the lung, liver, and other locations. EHE in bone, especially in thoracic vertebrae, is an extremely rare occurrence and signifies a challenge for the imaging diagnosis. This paper presents a rare case of EHE occurring in thoracic vertebrae and liver revealed by fluoride-18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to provide a better understanding of its clinical application and further insight into diagnosing a rare thoracic tumor.

Metal-oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) promise to enable lightweight and low-power applications, such as ultrathin active matrix displays and low-cost RF identification tags. However, most reported high-performance metal-oxide TFTs contain high-cost indium and gallium elements, leading to constraints in cost-sensitive application. Herein, we present enhancement-/depletion-mode (E-/D-mode) TiO2 TFTs via $\text{O}_{{2}}/\text{N}_{{2}}$ preannealing of TiO2 channel material prior to device fabrication process. It is found that the O2-annealed TiO2 TFTs exhibit improved performances compared to N2-annealed TiO2 TFTs, including increased mobility ( $\mu $ ), higher ON-/OFF-current ratio (ION/IOFF), and lower subthreshold swing (SS). This can be attributed to the passivation effects of O2 annealing, which leads to less oxygen vacancies at the channel and channel/oxide interface. On the other hand, the ionized oxygen vacancies result in the increased electron concentration in N2-annealed films and, thus, the negative shift of ${V}_{\text {th}}$ in the TFT performance. This article delivers a possible approach to improve oxide TFT performance by passivation of oxygen vacancies. Furthermore, the controlled annealing process has a great potential in the logic inverter applications when both E- and D-mode TFTs are implemented.

We introduce and analyze a weakly overpenalized symmetric interior penalty method for solving the heat equation. We first provide optimal a priori error estimates in the energy norm for the fully discrete scheme with backward Euler time-stepping. In addition, we apply elliptic reconstruction techniques to derive a posteriori error estimators, which can be used to design adaptive algorithms. Finally, we present two numerical experiments to validate our theoretical analysis.

In this article, multilayer MoS2 manufactured from a multiple-transfer process of chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown monolayer MoS2 is studied. Because of the lattice mismatch and larger distanc...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects approximately 25-30% population worldwide, which progresses from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, and has complications such as cardiovascular events. Liver biopsy is still the gold standard for the diagnosis of NAFLD, with some limitations, such as invasive, sampling deviation, and empirical judgment. Therefore, it is urgent to develop noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers. Currently, a large number of NAFLD-related serum biomarkers have been identified, including apoptosis, inflammation, fibrosis, adipokines, hepatokines, and omics biomarkers, which could effectively diagnose NASH and exclude patients with progressive fibrosis. We summarized serum biomarkers and combined diagnostic panels of NAFLD, to provide some guidance for the noninvasive diagnosis and further clinical studies.

To assess the diagnostic value of fluorine 18 (The study enrolled 29 patients with suspected PCa preoperatively who underwentOf the 48 suspected PCa lesions in 29 patients, 38 were pathologically diagnosed with clinically significant PCa and 10 with nonprostate cancer (non-PCa) lesions. Compared with the pathological results,The diagnostic value of

This paper reports on the demonstration of microwave power performance at 30 GHz on InAlN/GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor high electron mobility transistor (MISHEMT) on silicon substrate by using the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) as a gate dielectric. Compared with Schottky gate HEMT, the MISHEMT with a gate length (L G) of 50 nm presents a significantly enhanced performance with an ON/OFF current ratio (I ON/I OFF) of 9.3 × 107, a subthreshold swing of 130 mV dec−1, a low drain-induced barrier lowing of 45 mV V−1, and a breakdown voltage of 35 V. RF characterizations reveal a current gain cutoff frequency (f T) of 155 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency (f max) of 250 GHz, resulting in high (f T × f max)1/2 of 197 GHz and the record high Johnson’s figure-of-merit (JFOM = f T × BV) of 5.4 THz V among the reported GaN MISHEMTs on Si. The power performance at 30 GHz exhibits a maximum output power of 1.36 W mm−1, a maximum power gain of 12.3 dB, and a peak power-added efficiency of 21%, demonstrating the great potential of HZO/InAlN/GaN MISHEMTs for the Ka-band application.

Exposing cancer cells to alternating electric fields of 100-300 kHz frequency and 1-4 V/cm strength has been shown to significantly reduce cancer growth in cell culture and in human patients. This form of anti-cancer therapy is more commonly referred to as tumor treating fields (TTFields), a novel treatment modality that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in patients with glioblastoma and malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pivotal trials in other solid organ cancer trials are underway. In regards to overall survival, TTFields alone is comparable to chemotherapy alone in recurrent glioblastoma. However, when combined with adjuvant chemotherapy, TTFields prolong median survival by 4.9 months in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma. TTFields hold promise as a therapeutic approach to numerous solid organ cancers. This review summarizes the current status of TTFields research at the preclinical level, highlighting recent aspects of a relatively complex working hypothesis. In addition, we point out the gaps between limited preclinical in vivo studies and the available clinical data. To date, no customized system for TTFields delivery in rodent models of glioblastoma has been presented. We aim to motivate the expansion of TTFields preclinical research and facilitate the availability of suitable hardware, to ultimately improve outcomes in patients with cancer.

Due to the low cost and the scaling capability of Si substrate, InAlN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) on silicon substrate have attracted more and more attentions. In this paper, a high-performance 50-nm-gate-length InAlN/GaN HEMT on Si with a high on/off current (Ion/Ioff) ratio of 7.28 × 106, an average subthreshold swing (SS) of 72 mV/dec, a low drain-induced barrier lowing (DIBL) of 88 mV, an off-state three-terminal breakdown voltage (BVds) of 36 V, a current/power gain cutoff frequency (fT/fmax) of 140/215 GHz, and a Johnson’s figure-of-merit (JFOM) of 5.04 THz∙V is simultaneously demonstrated. The device extrinsic and intrinsic parameters are extracted using equivalent circuit model, which is verified by the good agreement between simulated and measured S-parameter values. Then the scaling behavior of InAlN/GaN HEMTs on Si is predicted using the extracted extrinsic and intrinsic parameters of devices with different gate lengths (Lg). It presents that a fT/fmax of 230/327 GHz can be achieved when Lg­ scales down to 20 nm with the technology developed in the study, and an improved fT/fmax of 320/535 GHz can be achieved on a 20-nm-gate-length InAlN/GaN HEMT with regrown ohmic contact technology and 30% decreased parasitic capacitance. This study confirms the feasibility of further improvement of InAlN/GaN HEMTs on Si for RF applications.

Electron mobility is important for electron velocity, transport current, output power, and frequency characteristics. In conventional mobility extraction methods, electron mobility is usually extracted directly from the measured gate capacitance (CG) and current-voltage characteristics. When device gate length (LG) scales to sub-100 nm, the determination of CG becomes more difficult not only for the measure equipment but also the enhanced effect from parasitic capacitance. Here in this paper, the CG extracted from high-frequency small-signal equipment circuit is used for the InAlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). Electron mobility of the device with LG of 60-nm under VDS of 0.1 V and 10 V is extracted using two-dimensional scattering theory, respectively. The obtained results show that under a high electric field, the electron temperature (Te) and addition polarization charges (∆σ) increase, resulting in the enhanced polar optical phonon (POP) as well as polarization Coulomb field (PCF) scatterings and degradation of the electron mobility. This study makes it possible to improve the electron mobility by reducing Te and ∆σ for the InAlN/GaN HEMTs application.AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors with different gate lengths were fabricated. Based on the chosen of the Hamiltonian of the system and the additional polarization charges, two methods to calculate PCF scattering by the scattering theory were presented. By comparing the measured and calculated source-drain resistances, the influence of the different gate lengths on the PCF scattering potential was confirmed.

Plexiform schwannoma (PS), a subtype of schwannoma, is a rare benign nerve sheath tumor characterized by a multinodular plexiform growth pattern. It is usually confined to the head and neck or skin. Pelvic PS is an extremely rare occurrence and signifies a challenge for the imaging diagnosis. In this work, we present a 42-year-old woman with pelvic PS, who was initially suspected of malignant tumor on 18F-FDG PET/MRI but confirmed as PS by postoperative pathology. We consider that this case would contribute to the literature and provide a further insight into diagnosing this kind of rare tumor.

Background: We aim to investigate the guideline adherence of β-blocker (BB) initiating dose in Chinese hospitalized patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and whether the adherence affected the in-hospital outcomes.Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients hospitalized with HFrEF who had initiated BBs during their hospitalization. We defined adherence to clinical practice guidelines as initiating BB with standard dose and non-adherence to guidelines if otherwise, and examined the association between adherence to guidelines and in-hospital BB-related adverse events. Subgroup analyses based on sex, age, coronary heart disease, and hypertension were performed.Results: Among 1,104 patients with HFrEF initiating BBs during hospitalization (median length of hospitalization, 12 days), 304 (27.5%) patients received BB with non-adherent initiating dose. This non-adherence was related to a higher risk (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]) of BB dose reduction or withdrawal (1.78 [1.42 to 2.22], P < 0.001), but not significantly associated with risks of profound bradycardia, hypotension, cardiogenic shock requiring intravenous inotropes, and severe bronchospasm requiring intravenous steroid during hospitalization.Conclusion: This study identified that over a fourth of patients had received BBs with an initiating dose that was not adherent to guidelines in Chinese hospitalized patients with HFrEF, and this non-adherence was associated with BB dose reduction or withdrawal during hospitalization.

As an important device in flexible and wearable microelectronics, flexible sensors have gained a lot of attention due to their wide application in human motion monitoring, human-computer interactions and healthcare fields. The preparation of flexible sensors with superior sensing performance and a simple process is still a challenging goal pursued by scientific researchers all over the world. The emerging two-dimensional (2D) Ti