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Purpose This study aims to examine the components and evolution of the Chinese wine festival market using the Dalian International Wine and Dine Festival (DIWDF) as a case study. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a longitudinal approach, survey data were collected from attendees of the first, fifth and seventh DIWDF in 2012, 2016 and 2018, respectively. Cluster analysis segmented attendees by wine and festival experience and consumption features. Comparative analysis was conducted to examine segment differences by demography, festival motivation, satisfaction and intention. Changes in segments over time were examined across the three times. Findings The following three clusters were identified: “wine-novice fest-newbies,” “occasional drinker fest-goers” and “wine-lover fest-enthusiasts.” Over the study period, the proportion of “wine-lover fest-enthusiasts” increased significantly while the percentages of the other two segments decreased, demonstrating the evolution of the Chinese wine festival market and their consumer impacts. Practical implications This study offers straightforward indicators of market value via consumption features for both wine businesses and festival organizers. The characteristics of the segments and their inter-linkage have important implications for developing product mix, targeting strategies, festival service design and market development. Originality/value This is the first known empirical research globally to investigate relationships among market segments both horizontally (differences between segments) and vertically (development over time) and to incorporate both wine- and festival-related consumption features.

Numerous substrates have been identified for Type I and II arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs). However, the full substrate spectrum of the only type III PRMT, PRMT7, and its connection to type I and II PRMT substrates remains unknown. Here, we use mass spectrometry to reveal features of PRMT7-regulated methylation. We find that PRMT7 predominantly methylates a glycine and arginine motif; multiple PRMT7-regulated arginine methylation sites are close to phosphorylations sites; methylation sites and proximal sequences are vulnerable to cancer mutations; and methylation is enriched in proteins associated with spliceosome and RNA-related pathways. We show that PRMT4/5/7-mediated arginine methylation regulates hnRNPA1 binding to RNA and several alternative splicing events. In breast, colorectal and prostate cancer cells, PRMT4/5/7 are upregulated and associated with high levels of hnRNPA1 arginine methylation and aberrant alternative splicing. Pharmacological inhibition of PRMT4/5/7 suppresses cancer cell growth and their co-inhibition shows synergistic effects, suggesting them as targets for cancer therapy., Arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) are involved in the regulation of various physiological and pathological conditions. Using proteomics, the authors here profile the methylation substrates of PRMTs 4, 5 and 7 and characterize the roles of these enzymes in cancer-associated splicing regulation.

The study identifies barriers to participation in cruises from domestic homeports among higher income Chinese adults. Results from 775 respondents extend leisure constraints theory by revealing that “structural” constraints (lack of knowledge, time, and money) most influence intentions not to cruise even for these wealthier consumers, whereas “not‐an‐option” constraints (disinterest due to previous cruising experience, intentions to cruise from a foreign homeport) are least influential. “Personal” factors (lack of companions and fears about safety, boredom, and seasickness) are moderately important. Six identified clusters include a large normative “moderate‐constraint” cluster, small “low‐potential” and “high‐potential” segments, and several specialized segments.

Large-scale park-visitor symbiosis remains an aspiration despite the need for new models to address the challenges of managing contemporary protected area systems. A survey of 1050 visitors to the Red Beach National Scenic Corridor in Northeast China, however, indicates a latent potential, with 36.0% qualifying as “enthused ecotourists” and 32.4% as “ecotourists” based on claimed adherence to basic ecotourism characteristics. Another 17.2% are “hands-on greens” also amenable to participation in on-site park enhancement activities but neutral about nature learning. “Ambivalents” account for the remaining 14.4% of the sample. High overall proclivity to participate, report misbehavior, and behave in a more environmentally responsible manner as a result of their Red Beach visit constitutes a basis for mass comprehensive ecotourism that can achieve park-visitor symbiosis and contribute significantly to the creation of an ecological civilization, as long as attendant strategies incorporate distinctive Chinese tendencies in ecotourism and outdoor recreation.

Engaging the neglected intersection between dark tourism, the visitor postexperience and geopolitics, this research reports the findings from a survey of 1,082 domestic visitors to Lushun Prison Museum in Dalian, China, a Japanese-era incarceration and punishment site that projects hegemonic anti-Japanese social representations. Most respondents reported strong emotional reactions and elevated patriotism along with worsened attitudes toward Japan, Japanese products and, to a lesser degree, Japanese people, suggesting negative implications for the increasingly tense China–Japan bilateral relationship. However, sample diversity is indicated by the revelation of small Japan-neutral clusters whose members are more likely to express contemplation and pity as dominant emotions rather than the anger and hate of the majority, and who qualify the dominant social representations accordingly. Communist Party membership, age, lack of student affiliation, and not having Japanese friends or knowing any Japanese people were all associated with Japan-negative perceptions and intentions.

JMJD6, a jumonji C (Jmj C) domain-containing protein demethylase and hydroxylase, has been implicated in an array of biological processes. It has been shown that JMJD6 interacts with and hydroxylates multiple serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins and SR related proteins, including U2AF65, all of which are known to function in alternative splicing regulation. However, whether JMJD6 is widely involved in alternative splicing and the molecular mechanism underlying JMJD6-regulated alternative splicing have remained incompletely understood. Here, by using RASL-Seq, we investigated the functional impact of RNA-dependent interaction between JMJD6 and U2AF65, revealing that JMJD6 and U2AF65 co-regulated a large number of alternative splicing events. We further demonstrated the JMJD6 function in alternative splicing in jmjd6 knockout mice. Mechanistically, we showed that the enzymatic activity of JMJD6 was required for a subset of JMJD6-regulated splicing, and JMJD6-mediated lysine hydroxylation of U2AF65 could account for, at least partially, their co-regulated alternative splicing events, suggesting both JMJD6 enzymatic activity-dependent and independent control of alternative splicing. These findings reveal an intimate link between JMJD6 and U2AF65 in alternative splicing regulation, which has important implications in development and disease processes.

This paper proposed the high-frequency, multi-harmonic-controlled, Class-F power amplifier (PA) implemented with 0.5 μm GaN Hetrojunction Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT). For PA design at high frequencies, parasitics of a transistor significantly increase the difficulty of harmonic manipulation, compared to low-frequency cases. To overcome this issue, we propose a novel design methodology based on a band-reject, low-pass, output matching network, which is realized with passive components. This network provides optimal fundamental impedance and allows harmonic control up to the third order to enable an efficient Class-F behavior. The implemented PA exhibits performance at 2.5 GHz with a 50% PAE, 14 dB gain, and 10 W output power.

In this study, we employed HgTe nanostructure-based matrices (nanomartrices; NMs) for surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) for the analyses of polyethylene glycol (PEG) derivatives as well as thiol-PEG-modified gold nanoparticles (PEG-Au NPs). Relative to common organic matrices, the use of HgTe NMs as the matrix for SALDI-MS resulted in more highly efficient analyses of PEG derivatives, in terms of sensitivity and reproducibility. The symmetric MS profiles of PEG (Mw: ca. 8000 Da) obtained through HgTe NMs/SALDI-MS analysis revealed the absence of polymer degradation during this process. Under optimal conditions, the HgTe NMs/SALDI-MS system enabled the detection of PEG sample as low as 100 pg and with molecular weights of up to approximately 42,000 Da. We also used this approach for the analyses of PEG-Au NPs in which various functional groups (carboxymethyl, amine, biotin) were present at the PEG termini, revealing that the combination of SALDI-MS and HgTe NMs have great potential for use in the characterization of modified polymer–ligands on nanomaterials. We also demonstrated the PEG-Au NPs can be coupled with HgTe NMs/SALDI-MS for characterization of biorecognition events. After avidin, the target protein, had been selectively captured by the biotin-PEG-Au NPs, we found that the desorption/ionization efficiency of biotin-PEG from the Au NP surface was suppressed; accordingly, this novel SALDI-MS approach allows rapid detection of avidin with high specificity and sensitivity. Au NP surfaces functionalized with other functional-PEG ligands might also allow amplification of signals from other biological interactions.

Glycoconjugates are ubiquitously present and play a critical role in various biological processes. Due to their low stability and incredibly high degree of structural diversity, the structural characterization of glycan generally requires chemical derivatization and sophisticated instrumentation. Herein, we report a method for complicated glycan characterization in a single assay by employing 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid functionalized mercury telluride nanoparticles (HgTe@DHB NPs) as a dual ionization–dissociation element in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Using a linear glycan, HgTe@DHB NPs promote laser-induced extensive and intense dissociation of the glycan, superior to HgTe microparticles and other inorganic nanoparticles (TiO2, ZnO, and Mn2O3 NPs). Abundant generation of diagnostic glycosidic (Y-, and B-type ions) and cross-ring cleavage (A-type ions) ions permits unambiguous determination of the composition, sequence, branching, and linkage of labile sialylated glycans. The general utility of this approach was demonstrated by the characterization of labile sialylated glycans and two sets of complicated isomeric glycans. This phenomenon was delineated further by investigating the NP's physico-chemical characteristics, revealing that their nanoscale-dependent thermodynamic properties, including UV absorption, photoelectron release dynamics and thermal energy, were the key to levitate temperature synergistically, thus inducing spontaneous glycan decomposition during the nanoparticle-assisted laser desorption–ionization process. Our results show that this “pseudo-MS/MS” obtained by HgTe@DHB can be beneficial for the analysis of biologically relevant and more complicated carbohydrates, without the need for chemical pre-derivatization and conventional tandem mass spectrometry.

We applied surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) with HgTe nanostructures as the matrix for the detection of single- and double-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ss-ODNs and ds-ODNs). The concentrations of surfactant and additives (metal ions, an amine) and the pH and ionic strength of the sample matrix played significantly different roles in the detection of ss- and ds-ODNs with various sequences. In the presence of Brij 76 (1.5 %), Hg(2+) (7.5 μM), and cadaverine (10 μM) at pH 5.0, this SALDI-MS approach allowed the simultaneous detection of T15, T20, T33, and T40, with limits of detection at the femtomole-to-picomole level and sample-to-sample intensity variation23 %. In the presence of Ag(+) (1 μM) and cadaverine (10 μM) at pH 7.0, this technique allowed the detection of randomly sequenced ss- and ds-ODNs at concentrations down to the femtomole level. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to report the detection of ss-ODNs (up to 50-mer) and ds-ODNs (up to 30 base pairs) through the combination of SALDI-MS with HgTe nanostructures as matrices. We demonstrated the practicality of this approach through analysis of a single nucleotide polymorphism that determines the fate of the valine residue in the β-globin of sickle cell megaloblasts.

Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is a multifunctional transcription factor shown to be critical in a variety of biological processes. Although it is regulated by multiple types of post-translational modifications (PTMs), whether YY1 is methylated, which enzyme methylates YY1 and hence the functional significance of YY1 methylation remains completely unknown. Here we reported the first methyltransferase, SET7/9 (KMT7), capable of methylating YY1 at two highly conserved lysine (K) residues, K173 and K411, located in two distinct domains, one in the central glycine-rich region and the other in the very carboxyl-terminus. Functional studies revealed that SET7/9-mediated YY1 methylation regulated YY1 DNA-binding activity both in vitro and at specific genomic loci in cultured cells. Consistently, SET7/9-mediated YY1 methylation was shown to involve in YY1-regulated gene transcription and cell proliferation. Our findings revealed a novel regulatory strategy, methylation by lysine methyltransferase, imposed on YY1 protein and linked YY1 methylation with its biological functions.

Cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase (Csad) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the de novo biosynthesis of taurine. There are a number of physiological roles of taurine, such as bile salt synthesis, osmoregulation, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress inhibition. To investigate the role of de novo synthesis of taurine during embryonic development, zebrafish csad was cloned and functionally analyzed. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that csad transcripts are maternally deposited, while whole-mount in situ hybridization demonstrated that csad is expressed in yolk syncytial layer and various embryonic tissues such as notochord, brain, retina, pronephric duct, liver, and pancreas. Knockdown of csad significantly reduced the embryonic taurine level, and the affected embryos had increased early mortality and cardiac anomalies. mRNA coinjection and taurine supplementation rescued the cardiac phenotypes suggesting that taurine originating from the de novo synthesis pathway plays a role in cardiac development. Our findings indicated that the de novo synthesis pathway via Csad plays a critical role in taurine homeostasis and cardiac development in zebrafish early embryos.

A quadrature charge-domain filter (QCDF) is proposed for downconversion and filters in RF receivers. The QCDF is designed with a chosen IF of 268 MHz, which is assumed a downconverted signal from 802.11 g RF signals by a subsampling or subharmonic mixer. Through a sampling rate of 1072 MS/s, the QCDF possessed 53-dB stopband attenuation, 32.51-dB alias-band attenuation, and 44-MHz bandwidth. For quadrature performance, this QCDF provided -27.67-dB error vector magnitude, using a 64 quadratic amplitude modulation signal with a bit rate of 54 Mb/s. This chip totally consumed 7.7 mA from a 1.2-V power supply and occupied 0.08 mm2 in 90-nm CMOS logical process.

We describe simultaneous analysis of naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA)-amino acid and NDA-biogenic amine derivatives by CE in conjunction with light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence detection using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). After sample injection, via EOF 0.1% PEO prepared in 100mM TB solution (pH 9.0) containing 30 mM SDS entered a capillary filled with 0.5M TB solution (pH 10.2) containing 40 mM SDS. Under this condition, 14 NDA-amino acid and NDA-amine derivatives were separated within 16 min, with high efficiency ((1.0-3.2)x10(5) theoretical plates) and sensitivity (LODs at S/N=3 ranging from 2.06 to 19.17 nM). In the presence of SDS and PEO, analytes adsorption on the capillary wall was suppressed, leading to high efficiency and reproducibility. The intraday analysis RSD values (n=3) of the mobilities for the analytes are less than 0.52%. We have validated the practicality of this approach by quantitative determination of 9 amino acids in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and 10 amino acids in normal epithelial cells (H184B5F5/M10). The concentrations of Tau and Gln in the MCF-7 cells were different than those in the H184B5F5/M10 cells, respectively. Our results show the potential of this approach for cancer study.

Rapid identification of Helicobacter pylori strains is of importance for diagnosis and then treatment of duodenal and gastric ulcers. We developed a CE approach for the analysis of RFLP of the PCR products of urease (UreAB) gene and flagellin A (FlaA) gene fragments. Prior to CE analysis, the 2.4-kbp UreAB and 1.5-kbp FlaA PCR products were digested with the restriction enzymes HaeIII and HhaI, respectively. The DNA fragments were then separated by CE in conjunction with laser-induced fluorescence detection using poly(ethylene oxide) in the presence of electroosmotic flow. The DNA fragments range in sizes 259-1831 bp and 12-827 bp for UreAB and FlaA restriction fragments, respectively. Of 27 samples, the CE approach provided five and ten different RFLP patterns of the HaeIII and HhaI digests. The RFLP of PCR products of the two genes allow great sensitivity of identification of H. pylori strains. When compared with slab gel electrophoresis, the present CE approach provides advantages of rapidity (within 6 min per run), simplicity, and automation. The preliminary results have shown great practicality of the CE approach for screening H. pylori strains.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyse factors influencing subscribers' usage of 3G mobile services in Taiwan.Design/methodology/approachThe research model, based on a technology acceptance model (TAM) and added perceived enjoyment, was tested by means of a two‐stage structure equation modelling approach. Data were collected from 532 respondents via a web questionnaire survey.FindingsThe findings indicate that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment are positively related to attitude, and perceived enjoyment has a positive influence on perceived usefulness.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest users of 3G mobile services need to be provided with more diverse and entertaining ways of communicating, which are at the same time easily accessible and convenient to use.Originality/valueA new correlation from perceived enjoyment to perceived usefulness was found to have a significant effect. This finding indicates enjoyment as a key factor influences customers' adoption of 3G services.

We have constructed a dark-field light scattering microscope using a very low-cost digital camera to investigate the adsorption of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on four different substrates at various pH values. The substrates used are glass, polycarbonate (PC), poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The coverage of AuNPs on hydrophobic substrates such as PDMS is greater than that on hydrophilic substrates like glass. The adsorption and aggregation of AuNPs on a particular substrate increased upon decreasing the pH (from 9.0 to 4.0). A greater coverage percentage of AuNPs, but less aggregation, occurs on glass treated with poly(diallyldimethylammonium) (PDDA) than on bare glass. The scattering intensity increases upon increasing the number of layers of adsorbed AuNPs on glass that was treated sequentially with AuNPs and PDDA. When compared to UV-Vis absorption, dark-field microscope provides greater sensitivity and qualitative surface information.

The enhancement-mode (E-mode) and depletion-mode (D-mode) device operations on the same chip and their monolithic integration to form a DCFL inverter by using the double δ-doped AlGaAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistors have been successfully fabricated and investigated. Distinguished static and microwave-frequency characteristics of the E-mode and D-mode pHEMTs at high ambient temperatures and the temperature-dependent performances of the monolithic DCFL gate integration have been comprehensively studied. Experimentally, the studied device demonstrates superiorly stable thermal threshold coefficient (∂Vth/∂T) of 1 (−1.27) mV/mm-K for the D-mode (E-mode) device. The noise margins of the DCFL inverter, at VDD = 1 V, are superiorly maintained above 0.1 V as the ambient temperature increases up to 400 K. The present devices are promisingly suitable for the low-power-dissipation, high-temperature digital circuit or the mixed-mode circuit applications.

Various static and microwave performances on InAlAs/InGaAs/InP HEMTs with a linearly-graded InxGa1−xAs channel (LGC-HEMT) have been comprehensively investigated and compared to those having a conventional lattice-matched In0.53Ga0.47As channel (LM-HEMT). Improved carrier transport characteristics and confinement capability by employing the linearly-graded channel have contributed to superior extrinsic transconductance (gm) of 346 mS mm−1, gate-voltage swing (GVS) of 0.5 V (182 mA), unity-gain cut-off frequency (ft) of 41 GHz and maximum oscillation frequency (fmax) of 63 GHz, with an improved frequency operation plateau at 300 K for a gate dimension of 0.65 × 200 µm2. Furthermore, improved kink effects leading to a lower gate leakage current of 0.7 µA mm−1, lower output conductance (gd) of 3.6 mS mm−1, higher voltage gain (AV) of 93.1, higher off-state breakdown voltage of 16.3 V and superior output power characteristics have also been discussed.

This paper presents a 5.25-GHz folded-cascode even-harmonic mixer (FEHM) for low-voltage applications. This FEHM employs the folded technique to reduce the headroom voltage, a current reuse circuit in the RF stage to improve its linearity, and the frequency-doubling technique in the local oscillator (LO) stage to produce an LO double-frequency signal. In addition, the proposed technique exhibits the advantage of high conversion gain. In order to demonstrate the benefits and optimize the circuit design, the theoretical studies of conversion gain, linearity, and noise performance are described. For measurement, the proposed FEHM possesses conversion gain of 8.3 dB, third-order input intercept point (IIP/sub 3/) of 0.03 dBm, and second-order input intercept point (IIP/sub 2/) of 31.2 dBm under the supply voltage of 0.9 V and LO power of 5.5 dBm. The power consumption of the proposed mixer is about 4.95 mW at an IF frequency of 500 kHz.

We report the analysis of long DNA molecules by nanoparticle-filled capillary electrophoresis (NFCE) under the influences of hydrodynamic and electrokinetic forces. The gold nanoparticle (GNP)/polymer composites (GNPPs) prepared from GNPs and poly(ethylene oxide) were filled in a capillary to act as separation matrices for DNA separation. The separations of lambda-DNA (0.12-23.1 kbp) and high-molecular-weight DNA markers (8.27-48.5 kbp) by NFCE, under an electric field of -140 V/cm and a hydrodynamic flow velocity of 554 microm/s, were accomplished within 5 min. To further investigate the separation mechanism, the migration of lambda-DNA was monitored in real time using a charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging system. The GNPPs provide greater retardation than do conventional polymer media when they are encountered during the electrophoretic process. The presence of interactions between the GNPPs and the DNA molecules is further supported by the fluorescence quenching of prelabeled lambda-DNA, which occurs through an energy transfer mechanism. Based on the results presented in this study, we suggest that the electric field, hydrodynamic flow, and GNPP concentration are the three main determinants of DNA separation in NFCE.

The separation of DNA by capillary electrophoresis using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) containing gold nanoparticles (GNPs) is presented. The impacts of PEO, GNPs, ethidium bromide (EtBr), and pH on the separation of double-stranded DNA have been carefully explored. Using a capillary dynamically coated with 5.0% poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and filled with 0.2% PEO containing 0.3 x GNPs (the viscosity less than 15 cP), we have demonstrated the separation of DNA markers V and VI within 5 min at pH 8.0 and 9.0. In terms of resolution and reproducibility, GNPs have a greater impact on the separation of DNA at pH 9.0. Resolution improvements for large DNA fragments (> 300 base pairs, bp) are greater than those for small ones in the presence of GNPs. It is important to point out that reproducibility is excellent (relative standard deviations for the migration times less than 0.5%) and thus no further dynamic coating is required in at least 20 consecutive runs in the presence of GNPs. Using 0.2% PEO (pH 9.0) containing 0.3 x GNPs, the separation of DNA fragments ranging in size from 21 to 23,130 bp was accomplished in 7 min. The results presented in this study show the advantage of PEO containing GNPs for DNA separation, including rapidity, high resolving power, excellent reproducibility, and ease of filling capillaries.

This paper describes the analysis of amines under acidic conditions by capillary electrophoresis (CE) in conjunction with indirect laser‐induced fluorescence (ILIF), using cresyl violet as a probe. In the system, a small pinhole (0.2 mm) and an interference filter (589 nm) were used to confine the light and to minimize the plasma interference from a He–Ne laser, respectively, improving the baseline stability. Adding lithium ions to the background electrolytes (BGEs) is effective to achieve narrower peak profiles, leading to better resolution. The analysis of six amines by CE–ILIF using an aqueous solution, pH 3.5, containing 5.0% methanol, 0.1 mM sulfuric acid, 0.1 mM cresyl violet, and 0.3 mM lithium was complete in 5 min, with the limits of detection (LOD) on the level of µM. Negative peak profiles are for amines with greater electrophoretic mobility than that of lithium ions, but positive peaks for the slower ones. To further improve the sensitivity, on‐line concentration based on pH junction ...

Separations of phiX-174/HaeIII DNA restriction fragments have been performed in the presence of electroosmotic flow (EOF) using five different polymer solutions, including linear polyacrylamide (LPA), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), and agarose. During the separation, polymer solutions entered the capillary by EOF. When using LPA solutions, bulk EOF is small due to adsorption on the capillary wall. On the other hand, separation is faster and better for the large DNA fragments (> 872 base pairs, bp) using derivative celluloses and PEO solutions. Several approaches to optimum resolution and speed by controlling EOF and/or altering electrophoretic mobility of DNA have been developed, including (i) stepwise changes of ethidium bromide (0.5-5 microg/mL), (ii) voltage programming (125-375 V/cm), (iii) use of mixed polymer solutions, and (iv) use of high concentrations of Tris-borate (TB) buffers. The DNA fragments ranging from 434 to 653 bp that were not separated using 2% PEO (8,000,000) under isocratic conditions have been completely resolved by either stepwise changes of ethidium bromide or voltage programming. Compared to PEO solutions, mixed polymer solutions prepared from PEO and HEC provide higher resolving power. Using a capillary filled with 600 mM TB buffers, pH 10.0, high-speed (< 15 min) separation of DNA (pBR 322/HaeIII digest, pBR 328/ Bg/l digest and pBR 328/Hinfl digest) has been achieved in 1.5% PEO.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) related genes and targets, as well as drug targets for preventing and treating CHD were taken as the study objects to build a CHD disease network and a drug action network preventing and treating CHD. Such topological characteristic parameters of the networks as degree distribution, characteristic path length, connectivity and heterogeneity were analyzed to verify the reliability of the networks. On that basis, the intersection calculation was conducted for both networks to analyze the drug action mechanism of their sub-networks. The disease network are composed of 15,221 nodes and 31,177 sides, while the drug action network preventing and treating CHD has 15,073 nodes and 32,376 sides. Both of their topological characteristic parameters showed scale-free small world structural characteristics. Two reaction pathways in the sub-networks-calcitonin gene-related peptide and IL-6 activated JAK/STAT were taken as examples to discuss the indirect action mechanism for preventing and treating CHD. The results showed that the biological network analysis method combining the disease network and the drug action network is helpful to further studies on the action mechanism of the drugs, and significant to the prevention and treatment of diseases.

To analyze the intersections among the western medicine action network for preventing and treating coronary heart disease (CHD), as well as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) action network for activating blood and dissolving stasis. In this article, 11 characteristic parameter values of network nodes, including connectivity, bottleneck, betweenness, were calculated. The target identification model was established based on key node characteristic parameters in the CHD-western medicine intersection network with support vector machine. Its C and y parameters were 5.14 and--1.11, respectively, with the predicted accuracies for positive and negative samples of 81.6% and 79.2%. The predicted sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the test set samples were 81.5%, 78.3% and 79.6%, respectively. Besides, the model was applied to predict potential action targets of the CHD-activating blood and dissolving stasis TCM intersection network, and 180 positive nodes and 42 negative nodes were obtained. In this article, 9 positive nodes, including calnexin, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor, were taken as examples to analyze the action mechanism of TCM for preventing and treating CHD. The results showed that the network potential key target analysis method was helpful to explore the potential action targets of activating blood and dissolving stasis TCMs for preventing and treating CHD, methodologically supportive to reveal the action mechanism of TCMs at molecular and systematic levels, and significant in guiding the research and development of new drugs.

We demonstrated techniques of stepwise changes of poly-ethyleneoxide (PEO) solutions for DNA separations in the presence of the electroosmotic flow (EOF). The stepwise changes were performed by injecting different PEO solutions contained in a number of syringes to a polyethylene tube, from which the polymer solutions entered a capillary filled with 1X TBE buffer by the EOF. The separation of DNA markers V and VI was not complete under isocratic conditions, either using 1.0–2.5% PEO solutions containing 0.5 μg/mL ethidium bromide (EtB) or using 2.0% PEO solutions containing 0.1–2.0 μg/mL EtB. Resolution, sensitivity and time of the DNA separation were varied under conditions of either stepwise changes of PEO concentrations from 1.5 to 2.5% in 0.5 μg/mL EtB solutions or stepwise changes of EtB concentrations from 0.1 to 2.0 μg/mL in 2.0% PEO solutions. The optimal separation was obtained under simultaneous stepwise changes of PEO and EtB: 1.5% PEO containing 0.1μg/mL EtB for 45 s, 1.5% PEO containi...

In this paper, a bit weight extraction technique is proposed to test and calibrate the successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The proposed technique is based on major carrier transition (MCT) testing, the MCTs are generated through simple capacitor switching and then measured by the embedded comparator and a coarse design-for-test (DfT) digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that couples to the capacitor DAC (CDAC). From the results, the individual bit weights are extracted and the ADC performance can thus be estimated and calibrated. Simulation results show very high test accuracy and linearity improvement can be achieved by the proposed technique.

A cascade non-decimation charge-domain filter (CNCDF) with noise-folding reduction for high attenuation and bandwidth was proposed. The CNCDF, based on non-decimation property, could suppress the noise-folding source from a down-sampling rate and duplicate-sampled signals upon a sensible input-clock rate (ICR). By using 600-MS/s ICR, the measurement showed 91-dB attenuation of the first folding signal, 95-dB stop-band attenuation, and 10-MHz bandwidth. The chip also possessed 30-dB gain and 6-dBm ΠΡ3, consuming 11.86-mA current from a 1.2-V power supply. The chip, including ESD and clock-logical circuits, occupies 3.6 mm2 in 90-nm CMOS process.

In this article, we describe the analysis of aptamers for Hg(2+) ions through CE with LIF (CE-LIF) detection using 2% poly(ethylene oxide) solutions containing OliGreen (fluorophore). In the presence of an EOF, DNA strands migrating against the EOF were detected at the cathode end. Four DNA strands - T(33), T(5)C(28), T(5)C(5)T(23), and T(15)C(5)T(13) - could not be separated through CE-LIF in the absence of Hg(2+). At 0.3 mM Hg(2+), however, all four were partially separated within 20 min, with SDs of the migration times all being less than 2.5%. From the CE, fluorescence, and ellipticity data, we concluded that the conformations of these four DNA strands all changed from random-coil to folded structures as a result of T-Hg(2+)-T bonding. In addition, we found that this CE approach provided different electropherograms patterns for T(7), T(15), and T(33) in the absence and presence of Hg(2+), indicating various interactions of the DNA strands with Hg(2+). Using this simple, high-resolution CE approach, we also demonstrated that adenosine triphosphate has a stronger interaction with the adenosine triphosphate aptamer than with either the platelet-derived growth factor aptamer or T(33). This CE approach holds great potential for screening aptamers for small solutes, studying the catalytic activity of DNAzymes, and evaluating the biological functions of microRNA.

A quadrature charge-domain filter (QCDF) is proposed. This QCDF, based on the input phases, could provide a stop-band filtering and support an in-band filtering of noise. Through the use of FIR coefficient, the alias-band rejection (ABR) and in-band suppression (IBS) could be well controlled. Measurement shows the 27.1dB ABR and 31.3dB IBS from out-of-phase signals and in-phase signals, respectively. This QCDF with 36MHz bandwidth and 7.5dBm IIP 3 is fabricated on the 90nm CMOS process.

A discrete-time (DT) anti-alias filter (AAF) with clock-efficient charge-domain filter (CECDF) for high attenuation and bandwidth was developed. This AAF possesses 88.86-dB attenuation and 13-MHz bandwidth at a 600-MS/s input-clock rate (ICR) and a 100-MS/s output-sample rate. The measured gain and IIP3 are 12.2-dB and 0-dBm, respectively, consuming only 5.56-mA from a 1.36-V power supply. The chip including clock-logical circuits occupies 0.2-mm2 in 90-nm CMOS logical process.

A quadrature charge-domain filter (QCDF) for frequency down-conversion and filtering is proposed. After measurement of QCDF by a 1072-MS/s sampling rate, a stop-band attenuation and bandwidth were 53-dB and 44-MHz, respectively. For quadrature performance after down-conversion, this QCDF provided −27.67-dB EVM upon a 64-QAM signal with 54-Mb/s. This chip consumed 7.7-mA power current upon a 1.2-V supply and occupied 0.08-mm 2 in 90-nm CMOS process.

Integration of a programmable-bandwidth front-end (PBFE) based on clock-interleaving down-conversion filter (CIDCF) is presented. After demonstration, PBFE has a programmable bandwidth from 1-MHz to 110-MHz. Under 6.14-mA power current (excluding output buffer) and 1.2-V power supply, PBFE gets +8.2-dBm IIP3, +45-dBm IIP2, and 2.6-dB gain. Moreover, a better than 26.79-dB alias-band rejection and 34.032-dB image rejection ratio are obtained. Using a 64-QAM signal with 54-MS/s for IEEE 802.11g standard, PBFE achieves -26.351-dB EVM on a 2.412-GHz RF frequency, 1.072-GHz LO frequency, and 1072-MS/s sampling frequency.