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Purpose: Dry eye syndrome (DES), arising from various etiologic factors, leads to tear film instability and ocular surface damage. Given its anti-inflammatory effects, cyclosporine A (CsA) has been widely used as a short-term treatment option for DES. However, poor bioavailability and solubility of CsA in aqueous phase make the development of a cyclosporine A-based eye drop for ocular topical application a huge challenge. Methods: In this study, a novel strategy for preparing cyclosporine A-loaded silk fibroin nanoemulsion gel (CsA NBGs) was proposed to address these barriers. Additionally, the rheological properties, ocular irritation potential, tear elimination kinetics, and pharmacodynamics based on a rabbit dry eye model were investigated for the prepared CsA NBGs. Furthermore, the transcorneal mechanism across the ocular barrier was also investigated. Results: The pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of CsA NBGs exhibited superior performance compared to cyclosporine eye drops, leading to a significant enhancement in the bioavailability of CsA NBGs. Furthermore, our investigation into the transcorneal mechanism of CsA NBGs revealed their ability to be absorbed by corneal epithelial cells via the paracellular pathway. Conclusion: The CsA NBG formulation exhibits promising potential for intraocular drug delivery, enabling safe, effective, and controlled administration of hydrophobic drugs into the eye. Moreover, it enhances drug retention within the ocular tissues and improves systemic bioavailability, thereby demonstrating significant clinical translational prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of Li+ replacement for Mn2+ on the structure, vacancy defects, and magnetic and dielectric characteristics of Mn1-xLixWO4 (x = 0.00–0.20) ceramics synthesized by solid-state reaction were investigated. The analysis of XRD and Raman results revealed that Mn1-xLixWO4 samples had single-phase monoclinic structure, and Li+ ions had partially replaced Mn2+ ions and induced lattice deformation and substitutional disorder in Mn1-xLixWO4. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy indicated that Li+ replacement resulted in the reduction of vacancy size and the increase of vacancy concentration. The dielectric properties measurements showed that Li+ replacement significantly enhanced the dielectric constant of the Mn1-xLixWO4 samples. It could be observed from the magnetic properties measurements that Li+ replacement suppressed the AF1 phase, extended the existing temperature range of AF2 phase, and weaken the magnetization of Mn1-xLixWO4 system. The evolution of magnetic properties was related to vacancy defects, lattice distortion, chemical disorder, and magnetic dilution effect caused by Li+ replacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary France, there are intense conflicts that involve both ethnic and religious issues. These conflicts provide an opportunity to study the many challenges involved in the construction of national communities and the governance of nation-states in the West. In the case of France, the continued exacerbation of the ethnic and religious problems is undeniably rooted in a range of factors both historical and current. However, the fundamental factor is that certain dominant ideologies and their value claims clash with the diverse and pluralistic nature of contemporary French society. To a certain extent, the disciplining on French society from these ideologies has distorted and contradicted it across multiple levels. Closely intertwined with ethnicity and religion, these issues predominantly manifest in the Muslim community. The notion of the "civic nation" in particular persistently excludes the notion of the "ethnic nation". As a result, Muslims face identity dilemmas as an ethnic minority, leading to ethnic conflicts. Furthermore, in France, religious practices continue to deconstruct secular principles. This results in a crisis of secularism and further exacerbates the dispute between Muslims and indigenous society. These two fundamental ideologies, along with numerous associated conflicts, have profoundly influenced how ethnic and religious issues evolved in France, posing a significant challenge to France's national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical giant cell tumor of the bone (GCTB) is a rare, primary benign bone tumor in pediatric patients. Surgery remains the primary choice for treating resectable cervical GCTB. Additional adjuvant therapeutic options are available for patients with unresectable cervical GCTB, including the anti-RANKL monoclonal antibody, denosumab. We represented a case incidentally found in a 7-year-old female, who complained severe craniocervical pain, grade 2–3 dysphagia, dysphonia, hypesthesia, and extremity weakness. The patient showed an impressive clinical response to denosumab, both clinically and radiologically, without adverse events or recurrence. To date, this is the youngest patient ever reported to have a progressive Enneking stage II C3 GCTB treated with denosumab alone. Denosumab can be administered as a single and conservative therapy for pediatric patients with unresectable upper cervical GCTB, avoiding the risks and morbidity of surgical and radiative treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To test whether some biometry measurements provided by the Lenstar LS900 compared well with the AL-Scan, Pentacam rotating Scheimpflug camera, Ultrasound Biomicroscopy (UBM) and Tomey EM-3000. Methods: Two hundred and one patients having routine cataract surgery had standard preoperative assessment. In this clinical study, the axis length (AL) and lens thickness (LT) were taken by Lenstar LS900 and AL-Scan; anterior chamber depth (ACD) was taken by Lenstar LS900, A-Scan, Pentacam and UBM; central corneal thickness (CCT) was taken by Lenstar LS900, Pentacam and Tomey EM-3000. The results were compared using a Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney U test and Pearson correlation calculations. Agreement was assessed through intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots. Results: The highest correlation was found between Lenstar and AL-Scan for AL (r = 0.975; P < 0.001). For LT measurements, the correlation between these two devices was also good (r = 0.699; P < 0.001). Excellent correlations were showed between Lenstar and Pentacam or UBM for ACD (r = 0.948, 0.704, respectively, both P < 0.001), but not between Lenstar and AL-Scan (r = 0.453, P < 0.001). The correlations of CCT between Lenstar and Pentacam or Tomey EM-3000 were both excellent (r = 0.817, 0.882, respectively, both P < 0.001). Conclusions: In phakic eyes of cataract patients, measurements of AL, LT, ACD and CCT from Lenstar LS900 yielded results that correlated very well with other clinical instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report the synthesis and photochemistry of a luminescent bimetallic alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridyl complex {[Ar(C≡C)2][Pt(tpy)]2}(PF6)2 (tpy = 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine; Ar = [(C6H3)2(C≡C–C≡C)]), in which six long alkoxyl chains were purposely introduced to prevent the molecules from coming close to each other and thus inhibit metal-metal interactions and π–π stacking. After the complex and all synthetic intermediates were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR, and mass spectra, the electronic absorption and luminescent behaviors were further studied by steady-state spectroscopy. Further concentration-dependent spectroscopy data showed that self-assembling aggregation effect commonly found in the alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridyl complexes can be effectively inhibited by the introduced multiple alkoxy groups of the complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report a new 5 steps synthetic method for a poly(phenylethynyl)benzene dendrimer of 40% total yield. The inexpensive materials, efficient route and simple manipulations are feasible for further preparation of functionalized derivatives. Photoluminescence properties of the product have been studied by steady-state spectroscopy and transient spectroscopy in a series of solvents. Subsequent DFT simulation supports further study of its photophysical properties and molecular configuration. The dendrimer has excellent bipolar electrochemiluminescence properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a radiomics signature for predicting survival and chemotherapeutic benefits of patients with lower-grade gliomas (LGG). Methods: Radiomics features were extracted from precontrast axial fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and contrast-enhanced axial T-1 weighted (CE-T1-w) sequence. Lasso Cox regression model was used for feature selection and radiomics signature building. The radiomics signature was developed in a primary cohort that consisted of 149 LGG patients and was then validated on an entirely new validation cohort that contained 66 LGG patients. A radiomics nomogram for the prediction of OS was established by adding the radiomics to clinicopathologic nomogram which developed with clinical data. Results: A radiomics signature derived from joint CE-T1-w and FLAIR images showed better prognostic performance (C-index, 0.798) than signatures derived from CE-T1-w (C-index, 0.744) or FLAIR (C-index, 0.736) sequences alone. Multivariable Cox regression revealed that the radiomics signature was an independent prognostic factor. One radiomics nomogram integrated the radiomics signature from joint CE-T1-w and FLAIR sequences with the clinicopathologic nomogram outperformed the clinicopathologic nomogram based on clinicopathologic data alone in predicting OS of LGG (C-index, 0.821 vs. 0.692; p < 0.001). Further analysis revealed that patients with higher radiomics signature were prone to benefit from chemotherapy. Conclusions: The radiomics signature was independent with clinicopathologic data and was a noninvasive pretreatment predictor for LGG patients' survival. Moreover, it could predict which patients with LGG benefit from chemotherapy. Key Points: • A radiomics signature derived from joint CE-T1-w and FLAIR sequences showed better prognostic performance than signatures derived from either single imaging modality. • The radiomics signature is an independent prognostic factor and outperformed clinicopathologic features in predicting overall survival of LGG patients. • The radiomics signature could help preoperatively identify LGG patients who may benefit from chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the relationship between the brain parenchymal density, the cerebral vessel density, the mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) content, the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and the morbidity associated with lacunar infarction of residents living in either the plains or the plateau regions were analyzed and compared for their potential clinical implications. Clinical data from the brain CT scans of individuals living in either the plain or plateau regions (129 each) were collected. Specifically, the CT values for basal ganglia, the middle cerebral artery, and the superior sagittal sinus, along with the number of patients with lacunar infarction, were collected. In addition, the MCH and MCHC values were measured in blood samples collected within 48 h following the CT scans. For statistical analysis, an independent sample t-test, Pearson's correlation test (permutation test), and Chi-squared test were employed. The inhabitants of the plateau had a significantly higher CT value of basal ganglia, the middle cerebral artery, and superior sagittal sinus and also higher levels of MCH and MCHC in the blood (ps < 0.001) than the inhabitants of the plains region. Further, there was a significant positive correlation between the three aforementioned CT values and the MCH and MCHC findings. However, no significant differences were found in the morbidity of lacunar infarction between these two regions (p > 0.05). The inhabitants in the plateau have a significantly higher brain parenchymal density, higher CT value for cerebral vessels density, and higher blood MCH and MCHC levels in comparison with individuals occupying the plains. Concurrently, the parenchymal density and the CT values are shown to be positively correlated with the MCH and MCHC content in the blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the efficacy, safety, and feasibility of a separate inserted positioning fine needle-mediated breathing-control technique applied to computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous puncture for biopsy or microwave ablation (MWA) of small lung/liver nodules near diaphragm. Total 46 patients with pulmonary/liver small nodules (≤ 3 cm in size) near diaphragm(nodule within 1 cm distance to the diaphragm)were undergone percutaneous biopsy (n = 15) or MWA (n = 31) under the guidance of CT, and a separate positioning fine needle-mediated breathing-control technique was applied for the precise punctures. CT plain scan was performed to monitor the complications after the procedure. The patient baseline data, operation details, successful rate, major complications as well as radiation dose during the procedure were recorded and analyzed. With the assistance of a fine positioning needle insertion for controlling the breathing, the puncture success rate for biopsy or MWA reached 91.30% (42/46). For biopsy, the mean nodule diameter, nodule distance to the diaphragm, puncture time and radiation dose during CT scan were 2.27 cm ± 0.74, 0.61 cm ± 0.24, 18.67 min ± 6.23, 28.84 mSv ± 6.99, respectively; For MWA, the mean nodule diameter, nodule distance to the diaphragm, puncture time and CT radiation dose were 2.35 cm ± 0.64, 0.69 cm ± 0.23, 38.71 min ± 13.65, 33.02 mSv ± 8.77, respectively. Totally, there were three and four cases found minimal puncture-related hemoptysis and pneumothorax needed no additional treatments, respectively. We recently developed and verified a feasible, safe and highly effective puncture technique with reasonable radiation dose for CT-guided biopsy or MWA for small nodules abutting diaphragm, therefore worthy of extensive application to similar clinical situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methanol-to-olefins (MTO), the most important catalytic process producing ethylene and propylene from non-oil feedstocks (coal, natural gas, biomass, CO2, etc.), is hindered by rapid catalyst deactivation due to coke deposition. Common practice to recover catalyst activity, i.e. removing coke via air combustion or steam gasification, unavoidably eliminates the active hydrocarbon pool species (HCPs) favoring light olefins formation. Density functional theory calculations and structured illumination microscopy reveal that naphthalenic cations, active HCPs enhancing ethylene production, are highly stable within SAPO-34 zeolites at high temperature. Here, we demonstrate a strategy of directly transforming coke to naphthalenic species in SAPO-34 zeolites via steam cracking. Fluidized bed reactor-regenerator pilot experiments show that an unexpectedly high light olefins selectivity of 85% is achieved in MTO reaction with 88% valuable CO and H2 and negligible CO2 as byproducts from regeneration under industrial-alike continuous operations. This strategy significantly boosts the economics and sustainability of MTO process. Methanol-to-olefins is hindered by rapid catalyst deactivation due to coke deposition. Here the authors demonstrate an approach of directly transforming coke to active intermediates to simultaneously recover catalyst activity and boost light olefins selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human motion style is a vital concept to virtual human that has a great impact on the expressiveness of the final animation. This paper presents a novel technique that transfers style between heterogeneous motions in real time. Unlike previous approaches, our stylized motion warping is capable of reusing style between heterogeneous motions. The key idea of our work is to represent human motions with identity-independent coordinates (IICs) and learn relative space–time transformations between stylistically different IICs, instead of separating style from content. Once the relative space–time transformations are estimated from a small set of stylized example motions whose contents are identical, our technique is capable of generating style-controllable human motions by applying these transformations to heterogeneous motions with simple linear operations. Experimental results demonstrate that our technique is efficient and powerful in stylized human motion generation. Besides, our technique can also be used in numerous interactive applications, such as real-time human motion style control, stylizing motion graphs and style-based human motion editing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Brusatol, a natural quassinoid that is isolated from a traditional Chinese herbal medicine known as Bruceae Fructus, possesses biological activity in various types of human cancers, but its effects in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) have not been reported. This study aimed to explore the effect and molecular mechanism of brusatol in NPC in vivo and in vitro.Methods: The antiproliferative effect of brusatol was assessed by MTT and colony formation assays. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. The expression of mitochondrial apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and Akt/mTOR pathway proteins were determined by western blot analysis. Further in vivo confirmation was performed in a nude mouse model.Results: Brusatol showed antiproliferative activity against four human NPC cell lines (CNE-1, CNE-2, 5-8F, and 6-10B) in a dose-dependent manner. This antiproliferative effect was accompanied by mitochondrial apoptosis and cell cycle arrest through the modulation of several key molecular targets, such as Bcl-xl, Bcl-2, Bad, Bax, PARP, Caspase-9, Caspase-7, Caspase-3, Cdc25c, Cyclin B1, Cdc2 p34, and Cyclin D1. In addition, we found that brusatol inhibited the activation of Akt, mTOR, 4EBP1, and S6K, suggesting that the Akt/mTOR pathway is a key underlying mechanism by which brusatol inhibits growth and promotes apoptosis. Further in vivo nude mouse models proved that brusatol significantly inhibited the growth of CNE-1 xenografts with no significant toxicity.Conclusions: These observations indicate that brusatol is a promising antitumor drug candidate or a supplement to current chemotherapeutic therapies to treat NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite decades of efforts to develop a pharmacotherapy for cocaine abuse treatment, there is still no FDA-approved treatment of diseases associated with this commonly abused drug. Our previously designed highly efficient cocaine hydrolases (CocHs) and the corresponding Fc-fusion proteins (e.g., CocH3-Fc) are recognized as potentially promising therapeutic enzyme candidates for cocaine abuse treatment, but all with limited biological half-lives. In order to prolong the biological half-life and, thus, decrease the required frequency of the enzyme administration for cocaine abuse treatment, we have modeled the Fc-fusion CocH binding with neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) in the present study. This approach led to the design and testing of CocH3-Fc(M6), a CocH3-Fc mutant with nearly 100-fold increased binding affinity: from Kd = ~ 4 μM to Kd = 43 nM. As a result, CocH3-Fc(M6) indeed revealed a markedly prolonged biological half-life (t1/2 = 206 ± 7 h or ~ 9 days) in rats, longer than other known Fc-fusion protein drugs such as abatacept and alefacept (for other therapeutic purposes) in the same species (rats). It has been demonstrated that a single dose of 3 mg/kg CocH3-Fc(M6) effectively blocked 20 mg/kg cocaine-induced hyperactivity on day 18 after CocH3-Fc(M6) administration. This is the first attempt to rationally design long-acting Fc-fusion enzyme mutant based on combined computational modeling and experimental measurement of the Fc-fusion CocH binding with FcRn. The similar structure-based design strategy may be used to prolong the biological half-lives of other Fc-fusion protein drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A system composed of vanadium(IV) disulfide quantum dots (VS2 QDs) and molybdenum(IV) disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets for use in an aptamer-based fluorometric tetracycline assay was developed. The tetracycline (TET) aptamer was first immobilzed on the VS2 QDs with a typical size of 3 nm. The blue fluorescence of the VS2 QDs (labeled with aptamer) with emission maxima at 448 nm (under excitation at 360 nm) was subsequently quenched by MoS2 nanosheets. If TET is recognized by the aptamer, the VS2 QDs drift away from the basal plane of the MoS2 nanosheets. This generated "turn-on" fluorescence of the VS2 QDs. A VS2 QD/MoS2 nanosheet-based fluorometric TET aptasensor was thus constructed. Selective and sensitive TET bioanalysis was realized in a linear range of 1 to 250 ng mL−1. The detection limit was 0.06 ng mL−1. Its applicability of determination of TET in milk samples has been demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Au-based TiO2 plasmonic photocatalysts have received wide research attention as an effective strategy to extend the visible light response of TiO2, the energy transfer mode from plasmon-excited Au to TiO2 is still unclear. Herein, we synthesized Au@SiO2 core–shell structure and further constructed Au@SiO2-P25 (a commercial TiO2) thin film electrode to explore the plasmonic energy transfer mechanism from Au nanoparticles (NPs) to TiO2. The obtained samples were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and transient photocurrents. The result of transient photocurrents indicates that the SiO2 interlayer cannot inhibit the generation of electron–hole pairs in TiO2. Combining the finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations, it was revealed that the photocurrents of Au@SiO2-P25 and Au-P25 are very dependent on the electromagnetic field intensity acting on TiO2. It can be deduced that the electron–hole pairs in TiO2 are excited by the local electromagnetic field induced by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Au NPs. Therefore, the energy transfer from Au to TiO2 is realized by the local electromagnetic field. This work provides solid evidence for the local electromagnetic field mechanism in a noble metal–semiconductor plasmonic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown that multiple sclerosis (MS) and schizophrenia share similarities in some respects, including white matter damage and neuroinflammation. On the other hand, adenosine was reported to promote oligodendrocyte precursor maturation and remyelinating while influencing microglia activation. The aim of the present study was to examine possible beneficial effects of adenosine on the recovery of cuprizone (CPZ)-exposed mouse which has been used as an animal model of MS and schizophrenia as the CPZ-exposed mouse presents demyelination, oligodendrocyte loss, microglia accumulation, as well as behavioral changes. As reported previously, C57BL/6 mice, after fed CPZ for 5 weeks, showed salient demyelination and oligodendrocyte loss in the cerebral cortex (CTX) and hippocampus, in addition to displaying anxiety-like behavior, spatial working memory deficit, and social interaction impairment. Administration of adenosine for 7 days during the recovery period after CPZ withdrawal promoted the behavioral recovery of CPZ-exposed mice and accelerated the remyelinating process in the brains of mice after CPZ withdrawal in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the effective dose (10 mg/kg) of adenosine inhibited microglia activation and suppressed abnormal elevation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α in CTX and hippocampus, but increased levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 or IL-10 in the same brain regions during the remyelinating process. These results provided an evidence-based rationale for the application of adenosine or its analogues as add-on therapy for schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS film is to some extent a limit for its wide application. To solve this problem, the high voltage electric field was used to improve the film's electrical conductivity and its effects on the film's structure and properties were investigated. The PEDOT:PSS film was prepared on quartz substrate with spin coating. Visible light transmittance of the prepared film was tested with UV-Visible spectroscopy and chemical structure was measured with Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy (FIRM). The surface morphology was characterized with AFM, and electrical conductivity was measured with Hall effects measurement. The results showed that with the increase of the electric field, the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS film was boosted rapidly at first, and then improved slowly when the electric field was above 200 kV/m. The film's electrical conductivity improved more than 17 times in total from 0.51 × 10 up to 8.92 × 10 S/m. However, the film's visible light transmittance decreased only a little with the increase of the electric field, not more than 3%. In addition, despite little change in the chemical structure of the PEDOT:PSS film, its surface roughness increased significantly with the increase of the electric field intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artesunate, a derivative of artemisinin, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory property. However, few studies showed the protective effects of artesunate on lung injury. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of artesunate on LPS-induced lung injury in mice. The mice were treated with artesunate 1 h before or after LPS treatment. The effects of artesunate on lung MPO activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were detected. The lung wet/dry radio and the numbers of inflammatory cells in BALF were also measured. ELISA was used to evaluate the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in BALF. Western blot analysis was adapted to detect TLR4 and Nrf2 signaling pathways. The results showed that artesunate protected against LPS-induced ALI by decreasing the numbers of inflammatory cells, lung edema, MPO activity, and MDA content. Furthermore, artesunate significantly inhibited the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Artesunate also inhibited LPS-induced IL-6 and IL-8 production in the A549 cells. In addition, artesunate dose-dependently suppressed LPS-induced TLR4 expression and NF-κB activation. The expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 were also up-regulated by artesunate. The data suggest that artesunate possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties against LPS-induced ALI via inhibiting TLR4 signaling pathway and activating Nrf2 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

p21-Activated kinase 5 (PAK5) is the last identified member of the PAK family. The PAKs are highly conserved serine/threonine and effector proteins for Cdc42 and Rac and are essential in regulating cell motility and survival. Previous studies have demonstrated that PAK5 played a pivotal role in apoptosis, proliferation, cancer migration, and invasion. However, the biological function of PAK5 in hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as its underlying mechanism, still remains to be fully elucidated. In the present study, we demonstrated that PAK5 markedly inhibited cisplatin-induced apoptosis and promoted cell proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Moreover, our results showed that overexpression of PAK5 contributed to cell cycle regulation. In order to elucidate the underlying mechanism of PAK5 on cisplatin-induced apoptosis and cell cycle regulation, we also examined the protein expressions of chk2 and p-chk2. In summary, our study investigated the role of PAK5 in cisplatin-induced cellular processes and provided evidence of its underlying mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship of bladder cancer with the presence of X-ray cross-complementing group 3(XRCC3) genetic polymorphismThr241Met has been reported with inconsistent results. The objective of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the association between this polymorphism and bladder cancer susceptibility. A comprehensive research was conducted through PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases up to Aug. 20, 2013. Pooled odds ratio and 95 % confidence interval were calculated using a fixed or random effects model. Statistical analysis was performed with Stata 12.0 software. Of the 18 case-control studies selected for this meta-analysis, a total of 5,667 bladder cancer cases and 7,609 controls were included. The combined results based on all studies suggested that XRCC3 Thr241Met was associated with bladder cancer risk under homozygote and recessive models. When stratifying for ethnicity, significant association was found in Caucasians under homozygote and recessive models. This meta-analysis suggests that XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism is a risk factor for bladder cancer risk. However, further well-designed studies are required to confirm our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a dual-band notch filter for two-layer frequency selective surface (FSS) at terahertz (THz) frequency with high filtering performance has been realized on high-resistivity silicon substrates. With periodic metallic resonators patterned on the silicon wafer, the designed filter can provide two tunable resonant frequencies for terahertz application. The transmission response was improved by introducing an extra surrounding pattern around the T-shaped structure, and the location of transmission drop was tuned independently with geometric parameters. Simulated by finite-integral time-domain method, the filter is designed to operate between 0.2 and 0.6 THz with dual-band band-stop performance, a salient feature of this design is making the low sensitivity of its frequency response to the incident angles, which allows to place the filter close to the radiation source with spherical wave fronts. The proposed structures were fabricated using photolithography and tested by THz time-domain spectroscopy system. Experimental results show that the transmission response has more than 12 and 32 dB rejections near 285 and 460 GHz respectively, which is in good agreement with the simulation result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a terahertz (THz) band-stop filter realized by fabricating a metallic T-shaped resonator pattern on the high-resistivity silicon wafer. The filter exhibits two typical band-stop response characteristics depending on the incident direction of electric field with respect to the T-shaped resonator. When the long and the short arms of the T-shaped resonator were electrically polarized by changing the incident THz wave transmission directions, the corresponding central frequencies of the band-stop filter were found to be 0.436 THz at −42dB and 0.610 THz at −28 dB, respectively. Using three-dimensional (3D) finite-integral time-domain simulations, the band-stop filter was designed, which can operate in the wavelength between 0.2 and 0.8 THz. Experimental verification was also performed using a free space THz time-domain spectroscopy system. The band-stop response characteristics are in good agreement with the simulation results. The interesting THz band-stop filtering properties suggest a promising application in the modern THz communication systems, THz time-domain spectroscopic imaging and THz continuous wave imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response of field electron emission of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanowires (NWs) to visible light has been investigated. It is found that, upon light illumination, the turn-on voltage drops, emission current increases obviously, and the Fowler-Nordheim behavior deviates from a straight line. A process of field emission coupled with semiconducting properties of CdS NWs is proposed. Photon-excited electron transition from the valence band to the conductance band of CdS nanowires increases the quantity of emitting electrons, and the photoemission decreases the effective work function of CdS emitters, which largely enhances the field emission performance. The response of field emission of CdS NWs to light illumination suggests an approach for tuning field emission of semiconductor emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic algorithm (GA) is utilized to design microstrip patch antenna shapes for broad bandwidth. A new project based on GA and high frequency simulation software (HFSS) is proposed to perform optimization. Reasonable agreement between simulated results and measured results of the GA-optimized design is obtained. The optimized patch design exhibits a three-fold enhancement in bandwidth when contrasted with a standard square microstrip antenna, showing the validity of this project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methods for isolating rare cells such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be generally classified into two categories: those based on physical properties (e.g., size) and methods based on biological properties (e.g., immunoaffinity). CellSearch, the only FDA-approved method for the CTC-based cancer prognosis, relies on immunoaffinity interactions between CTCs and antibodies immobilized on magnetic particles. Immunoaffinity-based CTC isolation has also been employed in microfluidic devices, which show higher capture efficiency than CellSearch. We report here our investigation of combining size-based microfiltration into a microfluidic device with immunoaffinity for enhanced capture efficiency of CTCs. The device consists of four serpentine main channels, and each channel contains an array of lateral filters that create a two-dimensional flow. The main flow is through the serpentine channel, allowing the majority of the sample to pass by while the secondary flow goes through the lateral filters. The device design is optimized to make all fluid particles interact with filters. The filter sizes range from 24 to 12 µm, being slightly larger than or having similar dimension of CTCs. These filters are immobilized with antibodies specific to CTCs and thus they function as gates, allowing normal blood cells to pass by while forcing the interactions between CTCs and antibodies on the filter surfaces. The hydrodynamic force experienced by a CTC was also studied for optimal experimental conditions to ensure immunoaffinity-enabled cell capture. The device was evaluated by capturing two types of tumor cells spiked in healthy blood or a buffer, and we found that their capture efficiency was between 87.2 and 93.5%. The platform was further validated by isolating CTCs from blood samples of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]