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Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The generalized Kerker effects have attracted increasing interests in recent years due to their abilities to manipulate the far-field properties of metasurfaces. However, the dual-polarized generalized Kerker effect enabling different tailoring of orthogonally-polarized electromagnetic waves has not yet been reported. Herein, we demonstrate polarization-controlled dual resonant lattice Kerker effects in periodic silicon nanodisks. By varying the incident angle, the electric dipole and magnetic dipole surface lattice resonances can spectrally overlap, causing zero reflectance and unitary transmittance, i.e., the resonant lattice Kerker effect. The incident angle for achieving this effect can be tuned differently for s- and p-polarizations over large regions by varying the nanodisk size or the lattice periods. The proposed dual-polarized resonant lattice Kerker effects open up avenues for polarization-controlled manipulation of the phase and wavefront of light with metasurfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the unique properties of strongly confined and enhanced electric fields, surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) provide a new platform for the realization of ultracompact plasmonic circuits. However, there are challenges in coupling light into SPPs efficiently and subsequently routing SPPs. Here, we propose a multi-directional SPP splitter and polarization analyzer based on the catenary metasurface. Based on the abundant electromagnetic modes and geometric phase modulation principle of catenary structure, the device has realized high-efficiency beam splitting for four different polarization states (x-polarization, y-polarization, LCP, and RCP). The central wavelength of the device is 632 nm and the operation bandwidth can reach 70 nm (585–655 nm). Based on the phenomenon of SPP beam splitting, we present a prototype of a polarization analyzer, which can detect the polarization state of incident light by adding photodetector with light intensity logic threshold in four directions. Moreover, by combining this device with dynamic polarization modulation techniques, it is possible to be served as a router or switch in integrated photonic circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science A is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Derivatives of (±)-ethyl mandelate are important intermediates in the synthesis of numerous pharmaceuticals. Therefore, efficient routes for the production of these derivatives are highly desirable. The short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) is a biocatalyst that could potentially be applied to the synthesis of (±)-ethyl mandelate; however, this enzyme requires the reduced form of the cofactor nicotine adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) (NAD(P)H), which is expensive. In this study, we developed a co-immobilization strategy to overcome the issue of NADPH demand in the SDR catalytic process. The SDR from Thermus thermophilus HB8 and the NAD(P)-dependent glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) from Thermoplasma acidophilum DSM 1728 were co-immobilized on silica gel. The properties and the catalytic abilities of this dual-enzyme system were evaluated. A final yield of 1.17 mM (±)-ethyl mandelate was obtained from the catalytic conversion of ethyl benzoylformate, with a conversion rate of ethyl benzoylformate to (S)-(+)-mandelate of 71.86% and in an enantiomeric excess of > 99% after 1.5 h. This system offers an efficient route for the biosynthesis of (±)-ethyl mandelate. In this study, we developed a co-immobilization strategy to overcome the issue of NADPH demand in the SDR catalytic process. The SDR from Thermus thermophilus HB8 and the NAD(P)-dependent glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) from Thermoplasma acidophilum DSM 1728 were co-immobilized on silica gel. Results showed that, this dual-system offers an efficient route for the biosynthesis of (±)-ethyl mandelate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The information about the use of off-label drugs in pediatric nephrology is still lacking, which leads to increased adverse reactions and medical disputes. We retrospectively analyzed the use of off-label drugs in the in-patient ward of the nephrology department of Nanjing Children's Hospital, China in order to provide more complete information about the use of drugs for children. Methods: Proportional stratified random sampling was applied to select patients with renal diseases aged 1 month to 18 years, who were admitted to the hospital from October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013. All nephrology-related drugs prescribed in the hospitalization period and take-home drugs prescribed on discharge were recorded and evaluated as off-label drugs or not from three different perspectives: person-time, prescription, and drug category. Results: From 385 person-times of patients with 1424 prescriptions, according to the ratio between off-label drugs and person-times, drug prescriptions, and drug products, the rates of off-label drugs were 40.78%, 16.64%, and 31.43%, respectively. Low-molecular-weight heparin, alfacalcidol and diltiazem were the most commonly used off-label drugs. Infants and younger children were the high-risk population of off-label drug use. The high rate off-label nephrology-related drug use in children was mainly related to lacking clinical research into drugs in children and the pace of drug label's revision, which cannot follow the development of medical science. Conclusion: Approximaely half of pediatric patients with renal diseases are usually prescribed with off-label nephrology-related drugs. Analyzing the off-label conditions from different perspectives may lead to various results. More clinical research into drugs for infants and younger children is needed so as to update drug descriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The significance of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer remains to be determined. Methods: We assessed the levels of PD-L1 expression in tumor-infiltrating immune cells as well as tumor cells, and evaluated the association between PD-L1 expression and clinical outcome in 262 colorectal cancer patients. Results: In univariate analysis, TNM stage ( p < 0.001), PD-L1 expression in tumor-infiltrating immune cells ( p = 0.016), tumor location ( p = 0.033), and tumor size ( p = 0.019) were associated with survival. In multivariate analysis, PD-L1 expression in tumor infiltrating immune cells and TNM stage were independent prognostic factors (HR 1.83, 95 % CI 1.09-3.05, p = 0.021; HR 2.49, 95 % CI 1.51-4.12, p < 0.001, respectively). Eight percent of patients had positive PD-L1 expression in tumor cells. In contrast, PD-L1 expression in tumor cells was not significantly associated with patient clinical outcome. Conclusions: Our data indicate that PD-L1 status in tumor-infiltrating immune cells is a significant prognostic factor in colorectal cancer patients. There is a need for randomized studies that evaluate the role of PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer in treatment decision protocols for novel immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pituitary tumor-transforming gene-1 (PTTG1) is a transcription factor that can affect transcriptional activity, angiogenesis, and cell senescence. We examined PTTG1 mRNA and protein expression in gastric cancer (GC) cell lines and tissues to determine its value as a biomarker for GC diagnosis and therapy. Methods: PTTG1 mRNA expression from 78 GC cases and paired adjacent normal mucosa (PCR cohort) as well as from five gastric cell lines was assessed using qRT-PCR. Nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA were extracted from two gastric cell lines to determine PTTG1 mRNA localization. PTTG1 protein expression from 98 GC cases, their paired adjacent normal mucosa, and 23 gastric intraepithelial neoplasia (GIN) cases was examined using immunohistochemistry (IHC cohort). The correlation between PTTG1 mRNA and protein expression and GC clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. Results: PTTG1 mRNA expression in GC tissues and cell lines was significantly increased compared with adjacent normal gastric mucosa and normal gastric mucous cell lines ( p < 0.05). PTTG1 expression was nuclear and cytoplasmic, with higher cytoplasmic expression. PTTG1 immunostaining significantly differed in GC (95.66 ± 20.65), GIN (84.00 ± 34.16), and normal adjacent mucosa (28 ± 22.25) ( p < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that PTTG1 mRNA and protein expression are independent prognostic factors for GC patient survival. Conclusion: Our results suggest that PTTG1 is a promising target for GC diagnosis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Gene expression profiling of whole blood is showing great promise for the discovery of novel biomarkers for colorectal cancer (CRC) detection. Given the relatively low incidence rate of CRC in the general population, most blood samples collected prior to a colonoscopy were confirmed to be noncancerous afterward. Previous studies have relied on blood samples collected after a colonoscopy to reach the sufficient number of CRC cases. The present study aimed to determine the colonoscopy-induced variability in the blood transcriptome and its potential impact on biomarker discovery. Methods: Whole blood gene expression profiling was conducted using Affymetrix HG-U133Plus2 arrays. We analyzed 20 paired blood samples collected from healthy controls before and after colonoscopy, and 20 blood samples collected from CRC patients after colonoscopy. Results: Utilizing hierarchical clustering analysis, samples collected before and after colonoscopy from the same subjects were closely clustered together, suggesting that the blood gene expression profiles primarily reflect the heterogeneity within each individual. A total of 914 genes were differentially expressed between controls and CRC patients, while gene expression did not differ between samples collected before and after colonoscopy. Using real-time PCR technology, we further validated six genes from published biomarkers in this study. Our results confirmed that the biomarkers identified in previous studies were not likely to be biased due to the colonoscopy effect. Conclusions: Our results showed that the colonoscopy-induced variations were minute compared to individuals' heterogeneity and disease-induced variations. These findings may serve as a basis for future development of blood-based transcriptomic biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum oxides have been widely investigated for their broad applications ranging from electronics to energy storage. Photodetectors based on molybdenum trioxide (MoO3), however, were seldom reported owing to their low conductivity and weak photoresponse. Herein we report a photodetector based on single MoO3 nanobelt with wide visible spectrum response by introducing substantial gap states via H2 annealing. The pristine MoO3 nanobelt possessed low electrical conductance and no photoresponse for nearly all visible lights. The H2 annealing can significantly improve the conductance of MoO3 nanobelt, and result in a good photodetector with wide visible spectrum response. Under illumination of 680 nm light, the photodetector exhibited high responsivity of ~56 A/W and external quantum efficiency of ~10200%. As corroborated by in situ ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations, such strong wide spectrum photoresponse arises from the largely enriched gap states in the MoO3 nanobelt after H2 annealing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate patient dose in diagnostic screen-film radiographic examinations in the city of Lhasa, China. Seven out of the twenty-six hospitals registered with the Lhasa Health Bureau were included in the investigation. The entrance surface air Kerma (ESAK) of seven conventional screen-film radiology X-ray equipment in these hospitals was measured with a QA dosimeter in September 2012. The X-ray examinations were divided into three categories: PA (posterior-anterior) chest, upper/lower limb, and AP (anterior-posterior) lumbar spine. For each category, ESAKs were calculated and analyzed. The mean ESAK was 0.6 mGy for PA chest, 0.3 mGy for upper/lower limb, and 1.8 mGy for AP lumbar spine. In addition, the mean ESAK value recorded for PA chest X-ray examinations exceeded the corresponding value recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (0.4 mGy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

100-Seed weight (100-SW) of soybean is an important but complicated quantitative trait to yield. This study was focus on the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of soybean 100-SW from 2006 to 2010, using recombination inbred lines population that was derived from a cross between Charleston and Dongnong 594. A total of 23 QTLs for 100-SW were detected in the linkage group C2, D1a, F, G and O. Nine QTLs were identified by composite interval mapping including one QTL with the minimum confidence interval (CI) of 1.3 cM, while 14 QTLs by multiple interval mapping. Furthermore, 94 reported QTLs of 100-SW were integrated with our QTL mapping results using BioMercator. As a result, 15 consensus QTLs and their corresponding markers were identified. The minimum CI was reduced to 1.52 cM by the combination of meta-analysis. These findings may merit fine-mapping of these QTL in soybean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Take account of the characters of road geological hazard and its supervision, it is very important to develop the Road Landslides Information Management and Forecasting System based on Geographic Information System (GIS). The paper presents the system objective, function, component modules and key techniques in the procedure of system development. The system, based on the spatial information and attribute information of road geological hazard, was developed and applied in Guizhou, a province of China where there are numerous and typical landslides. The manager of communication, using the system, can visually inquire all road landslides information based on regional road network or on the monitoring network of individual landslide. Furthermore, the system, integrated with mathematical prediction models and the GIS’s strongpoint on spatial analyzing, can assess and predict landslide developing procedure according to the field monitoring data. Thus, it can efficiently assists the road construction or management units in making decision to control the landslides and to reduce human vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many recent studies have confirmed the existence of liquid slip over particular types of solid surfaces, and these so-called super-hydrophobic surfaces have been shown to generate effective liquid slip because of the air trapped between the surface structures. In this paper, based on boundary layer theory, the microscopic structure of the super-hydrophobic surface is analyzed. The liquid slip effect on friction-reduction over super-hydrophobic surfaces under various flow conditions is investigated by experiments with a flume and water tunnel. The experimental results show that the greatest amount of drag-reduction that can be achieved is 8.76% at a low Re. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The membrane-linking protein Ezrin is highly expressed in several types of human cancers. The correlations between its immunoreactivity and histopathological data as well as patient outcome have previously been shown. However, the role played by Ezrin in the carcinogenesis, progression and metastasis of primary sporadic colorectal carcinoma (SCRC) is still under investigation. This study assessed Ezrin protein expression in a series of clinical specimens. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to characterize patterns of Ezrin expression in 132 cases of SCRC, including 74 metastatic cases and 58 non-metastatic cases and 43 adjacent normal colorectal mucosa. (1) The expression rate of Ezrin in SCRC (79.5%) was significantly higher than in adjacent normal colorectal mucosa (11.6%) ( P < 0.001); (2) The total expression rate of Ezrin was 86.5% and 70.7% in metastatic group and non-metastatic group, respectively ( P = 0.026); the membrane expression rate of Ezrin was 31.1% and 6.9% in the two groups, respectively ( P < 0.01); (3) There was no relationship between the expression of Ezrin with age, gender, tumor size, location, degree of differentiation and invasive depth; (4) In the cases with followed-up data, univariate analysis demonstrated that Ezrin expression and its membrane translocation was correlated with worse patient’s disease-free survival (DFS) ( P uni < 0.05). Ezrin was expressed in the majority of SCRC and associated with adverse prognostic factors. The increase expression and the switch of Ezrin localization from the cytoplasm to the membrane were closely correlated with metastasis in SCRC. It might be served as an important parameter for determining tumor biological behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to study the changes of apoptosis and cell cycle progression in HeLa cells after the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was inhibited by its inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB) and the mechanisms of PARP action on HeLa cells damaged by irradiation. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to examine the PARP expression and the percentage of apoptotic cells and cell cycle progression. The percentage of HeLa cells with positive expression of PARP protein 2, 4, 8 and 12 h after administrated with 3-AB was significantly lower than that of the control ( P < 0.01). The percentages of apoptotic cells in the 3-AB plus irradiation group at the time points of 2, 8, 12 and 24 h after 2 Gy irradiation were higher than that in the irradiation group ( P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) and the percentage of G2 cells decreased significantly ( P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). It indicates that 3-AB can rapidly inhibit PARP expression of HeLa cells, promote cell apoptosis and block G2 arrest induced by irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cognitive and sensory deficits have been identified as a core feature of schizophrenia, only a small portion of visual sensorium has been explored. To date, studies on visual system of three-dimensional percepts based on two-dimensional information still are limited. This study is the first to examine the integrity of stereopsis of schizophrenia in a Han Chinese population, and to further investigate the correlation of stereopsis with clinical symptoms. 100 patients with schizophrenia and 80 healthy controls were recruited. We assessed stereoacuity using the Titmus Stereopsis Test and clinical symptoms using Chinese versions of the Scales for the Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms (SAPS and SANS). There was a significant difference in log seconds of arc between two groups (p < 0.0001). The percentage of patients with correct stereopsis detection was significantly reduced at 400, 200, 140, 100, 80, 60, 50, and 40 seconds of arc than healthy controls (all, p < 0.01). Log seconds of arc in patients was not correlated with total scores and subscores of SAPS and SANS (all, p > 0.05). Our findings support that patients with schizophrenia have a marked deficit of stereopsis in a Han Chinese population. However, clinical symptoms do not influence stereopsis of schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive deficits have been regarded as one of the most significant clinical symptoms of depressive disorder. Accumulating evidence has shown that apolipoprotein B (ApoB) levels, which are responsible for inducing neurodegeneration, may be involved in cognitive deficits. This study examines cognitive deficits, and the correlation of serum ApoB levels with cognitive deficits of depressive disorder. 90 depressive patients and 90 healthy controls with matched age and gender were recruited. Cognition was assessed using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Serum ApoB levels in depressive patients were measured by immunoturbidimetric method. Our results showed that depressive patients had lower scores of cognition including RBANS total score and subscales of language and delayed memory (all, p < 0.001) than healthy controls after controlling for the variables. The differences in cognitive functions also passed Bonferroni corrections. Serum ApoB levels were negatively correlated with delayed memory score in depressive patients (r = −0.30, p = 0.01). Furthermore, stepwise multivariate regression analysis indicated that serum ApoB levels independently contributed to delayed memory in depressive patients (t = −2.68, p = 0.01). Our findings support that serum ApoB levels may be involved in delayed memory decline in depressive patients. Depressive patients also experience greater cognitive deficits, especially in delayed memory and language than healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The division of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) into germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) and activated B-cell-like (ABC) subtypes based on gene expression profiling has proved to be a landmark in understanding the pathogenesis of the disease. This study aims to identify a novel biomarker to facilitate the translation of research into clinical practice. Using a training set of 350 patients, we identified a two-gene expression signature, 'LIMD1-MYBL1 Index', which is significantly associated with cell-of-origin subtypes and clinical outcome. This two-gene index was further validated in two additional dataset. Tested against the gold standard method, the LIMD1-MYBL1 Index achieved 81% sensitivity, 89% specificity for ABC group and 81% sensitivity, 87% specificity for GCB group. The ABC group had significantly worse overall survival than the GCB group (hazard ratio = 3.5, P = 0.01). Furthermore, the performance of LIMD1-MYBL1 Index was satisfactory compared with common immunohistochemical algorithms. Thus, the LIMD1-MYBL1 Index had considerable clinical value for DLBCL subtype classification and prognosis. Our results might prompt the further development of this two-gene index to a simple assay amenable to routine clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is inconsistent evidence for an association of obesity with white matter microstructural alterations. Such inconsistent findings may be related to the cumulative effects of obesity and alcohol dependence. This study aimed to investigate the possible interactions between alcohol dependence and overweight/obesity on white matter microstructure in the human brain. A total of 60 inpatients with alcohol dependence during early abstinence (44 normal weight and 16 overweight/obese) and 65 controls (42 normal weight and 23 overweight/obese) were included. The diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures [fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD)] of the white matter microstructure were compared between groups. We observed significant interactive effects between alcohol dependence and overweight/obesity on DTI measures in several tracts. The DTI measures were not significantly different between the overweight/obese and normal-weight groups (although widespread trends of increased FA and decreased RD were observed) among controls. However, among the alcohol-dependent patients, the overweight/obese group had widespread reductions in FA and widespread increases in RD, most of which significantly differed from the normal-weight group; among those with overweight/obesity, the alcohol-dependent group had widespread reductions in FA and widespread increases in RD, most of which were significantly different from the control group. This study found significant interactive effects between overweight/obesity and alcohol dependence on white matter microstructure, indicating that these two controllable factors may synergistically impact white matter microstructure and disrupt structural connectivity in the human brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]