Investigating an abnormal hump phenomenon in top gate a-InGaZnO thin-film transistors due to mobile sodium diffusion.

Top gate a-InGaZnO (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) annealed at high temperature show excellent initial current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. However, when they are exposed to positive gate bias for a long time, hump can occur in the subthreshold region. This abnormal hump is accelerated at a higher positive gate voltage and mitigate by a negative gate voltage.

Molecular Ordering Behavior of Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals on a Polyimide Alignment Layer.

Coating-type polarizing films with a high dichroic ratio (DR) and polarization efficiency in the visible region were fabricated using a solution of ternary lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs). Optical characteristics of these anisotropic LCLC polarizing films were then determined. DR increased with increasing LCLC concentrations.

Long-term treatment of glucagon-like peptide-1 analog exendin-4 ameliorates diabetic nephropathy through improving metabolic anomalies in db/db mice.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a gut incretin hormone and is a new clinically available class of agents for improving of insulin resistance in both animals and humans with type 2 diabetes. These studies aimed to determine whether long-term treatment with a long-acting GLP-1 analog, exendin-4, delayed the progression of diabetes. Male db/db mice and db/m mice at 8 wk of age were treated with exendin-4 for 8 wk, whereas the control db/db mice received only vehicle.

Accelerated diabetic nephropathy in mice lacking the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha, a member of the ligand-activated nuclear receptor superfamily, plays an important role in lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis and is highly expressed in the kidney. The present studies were aimed at determining the role of PPARalpha in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy using PPARalpha-knockout mice and cultured murine mesangial cells. Diabetes was induced using a low-dose streptozotocin protocol in 8-week-old male 129 SvJ PPARalpha-knockout and wild-type mice.