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Purpose Adequate pulmonary function is important for patients undergoing surgical resection of esophageal cancer, especially those that received neoadjuvant therapy. However, it is unknown if pre-operative radiation affects pulmonary function differently compared to chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in pulmonary function between patients undergoing minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Methods Between March 2017 and March 2018, esophageal cancer patients requiring neoadjuvant therapy were prospectively enrolled and randomly assigned to receive chemotherapy (CT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) before MIE. All patients received pulmonary function testing before and after the neoadjuvant therapy. Changes in pulmonary function, operative data, and pulmonary complications were compared between the 2 groups. Results A total of 71 patients were randomized and underwent MIE after receiving CT (n = 34) or CRT (n = 37). Baseline clinical characteristics were comparable between the 2 groups. The CRT group experienced a greater decrease of forced expiratory volume at 1 s (FEV1) (2.66 to 2.18 L, p = 0.023) and diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide divided by the mean alveolar volume (DLCO/Va) (17.3%, p 1 2.53 to 2.41 L; DLCO/Va 4.8%). The incidence of pulmonary complications was higher in the CRT group (13.51 vs. 8.82%), but the difference was not significant (p = 0.532). Conclusions Preoperative CRT affects pulmonary function more than CT alone, but does not increase the risk of pulmonary complications in patients undergoing MIE.

The 5-year survival rate for patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), including tongue SCC, has not significantly improved over the last several decades. Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), including oral dysplasias, are oral epithelial disorders that can develop into oral SCCs. To identify molecular characteristics that might predict conversion of OPMDs to SCCs and guide treatment plans, we performed global transcriptomic analysis of human tongue OPMD (n = 9) and tongue SCC (n = 11) samples with paired normal margin tissue from patients treated at Weill Cornell Medicine. Compared to margin tissue, SCCs showed more transcript changes than OPMDs. OPMDs and SCCs shared some altered transcripts, but these changes were generally greater in SCCs than OPMDs. Both OPMDs and SCCs showed altered signaling pathways related to cell migration, basement membrane disruption, and metastasis. We suggest that OPMDs are on the path toward malignant transformation. Based on patterns of gene expression, both OPMD and tongue SCC samples can be categorized into subclasses (mesenchymal, classical, basal, and atypical) similar to those seen in human head and neck SCC (HNSCC). These subclasses of OPMDs have the potential to be used to stratify patient prognoses and therapeutic options for tongue OPMDs. Lastly, we identified a gene set (ELF5; RPTN; IGSF10; CRMP1; HTR3A) whose transcript changes have the power to classify OPMDs and SCCs and developed a Firth logistic regression model using the changes in these transcripts relative to paired normal tissue to validate pathological diagnosis and potentially predict the likelihood of an OPMD developing into SCC, as data sets become available.

There is controversy regarding the long-term prognosis and short-term postoperative complications of different surgical strategies for proximal gastric cancer (PGC).We searched for articles published in Embase (Ovid), Medline (Ovid), PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science between January 1, 1990, and February 1, 2021. We screened out the literature comparing different surgical strategies. We then evaluated the long-term and short-term outcome of different surgical strategies using a network meta-analysis, which summarizes the hazard ratio, odds ratio, mean difference, and 95% confidence interval.There were no significant differences between different surgical strategies for 5-year overall survival (OS), anastomotic leakage, or weight loss after 1 year. Compared with total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction (TG-RY) and proximal gastrectomy with double tract reconstruction (PG-DTR), the proximal gastrectomy with esophagogastrostomy (PG-EG) strategy significantly increased the incidence of reflux esophagitis; and the operation time and blood loss of the PG-EG strategy were significantly less than those of the other surgical strategies. The anastomotic stenosis rates of the PG-EG and proximal gastrectomy with jejunum interstitial (PG-JI) strategies were significantly higher than those of TG-RY and PG-DTR; the hemoglobin level after 1 year for the PG-DTR strategy was significantly higher than that of the TG-RY strategy.Our comprehensive literature research found that different surgical strategies had no significant difference in the long-term survival of PGC, but the incidence of reflux esophagitis and anastomotic stenosis after PG-DTR and TG-RY was significantly reduced.

Three striking and impactful extreme cold weather events successively occurred across East Asia and North America during the mid-winter of 2020/21. These events open a new window to detect possible underlying physical processes. The analysis here indicates that the occurrences of the three events resulted from integrated effects of a concurrence of anomalous thermal conditions in three oceans and interactive Arctic-lower latitude atmospheric circulation processes, which were linked and influenced by one major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW). The North Atlantic warm blob initiated an increased poleward transient eddy heat flux, reducing the Barents-Kara seas sea ice over a warmed ocean and disrupting the stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) to induce the major SSW. The Rossby wave trains excited by the North Atlantic warm blob and the tropical Pacific La Nina interacted with the Arctic tropospheric circulation anomalies or the tropospheric polar vortex to provide dynamic settings, steering cold polar air outbreaks. The long memory of the retreated sea ice with the underlying warm ocean and the amplified tropospheric blocking highs from the midlatitudes to the Arctic intermittently fueled the increased transient eddy heat flux to sustain the SSW over a long time period. The displaced or split SPV centers associated with the SSW played crucial roles in substantially intensifying the tropospheric circulation anomalies and moving the jet stream to the far south to cause cold air outbreaks to a rarely observed extreme state. The results have significant implications for increasing prediction skill and improving policy decision making to enhance resilience in “One Health, One Future”.

Prior uncertain autoregressive (UAR) model research has focused principally on a univariate time series. However, different variables tend to influence each other in reality. In order to fill this gap, this paper explores the interrelationships among different variables and proposes an exposition of uncertain vector autoregressive (UVAR) model. Furthermore, we choose the least squares principle to estimate the unknown parameters in the UVAR model and analyze the residual of disturbance term. Then, we present the point estimation and confidence interval of the variables in the next period. Finally, the empirical results show that essential improvements in forecasting can be obtained by adding relative variables.

The construction and the operation of multi-reservoir has severely altered the downstream design flood. This paper quantified the flood frequency modifications caused by multi-reservoir regulation with recorded data and a numerical model composed of peaks-over-threshold (POT) samples and time-trend models. The whole research was carried out in Dongjiang River Basin, Southern China. Results showed that (1) Sampling with the POT method could eliminate fake changes in change detection and prevent the underestimation of the design floods with an exceeding probability over 90% and the overestimation of the design floods with an exceeding probability less than 80%; (2) Multi-reservoir regulation severely reduced design flood when the exceeding probability was greater than 1% and smaller than 95%. The 10-year floods were mitigated the most. However, when the exceeding probability was over 95%, the impact was insignificant; (3) Flood mitigation was positively correlated to the number of reservoirs, but negatively correlated to the distance between the affecting reservoir and the affected station. However, when multiple reservoirs took effect on the design flood in one station, the closest reservoir did not necessarily take the most effect. The results of this research will amplify the theoretical basis for flood protection and the planning of regulation.

It is known that ypN0 status after induction treatment can be divided into “natural” N0 (cN0/ypN0) and “downstaged” N0 (cN+/ypN0). Whether natural N0 patients and downstaged N0 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after neoadjvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) have similar prognosis is unknown. An institutional database was reviewed to identify ESCC patients after nCRT, whose CT scans were retrieved and reviewed to reclassify nodal status. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on node status: natural N0, downstaged N0, and ypN+. Impact of nodal status on survival and associations with survival were analyzed. We identified 110 patients, and 25 had natural N0 disease, 52 had downstaged N0 disease, and 33 had ypN+ disease. The 3-year OS was 76.7%, 79.5%, and 49% in natural N0, downstaged N0 and ypN+ group, respectively, and, correspondingly, the 3-year DFS was 77%, 73.9%, and 36.3%. In multivariable analysis, OS (P = 0.794) and DFS (P = 0.957) did not differ between natural N0 and downstaged N0 groups, but it was significantly shorter in ypN+ group (OS, P = 0.032; DFS, P = 0.021). In subgroups with “poor response” of primary tumor, the prognosis of natural N0 and downstaged N0 paitents was poor almost identical to ypN+ in both OS (P = 0.721; P = 0.252) and DFS (P = 0.694; P = 0.114). The ypN0 status is an important hallmark demonstrating the effectiveness of nCRT for ESCC, regardless of cN status. Additionally, the survival of natural N0 and downstaged N0 patients with bad response at primary site may be poor, similar to ypN+ patients.

Magnetic effervescent tablet-based (MEFTs) microextraction has recently gained much attention because it requires no physical energy inputs or dispersive solvent. A prominent shortcoming of MEFTs results from the short tablet storage period owing to rapid absorption of moisture, thereby making it impracticable for field use. Physico-chemical properties of MEFTs were greatly improved by the addition of water-soluble starch, such as hygroscopicity, storage/stability period, adherence, effervescent time, and intensity. MEFTs were used in a MFe2O4-based magnetic ionic liquid effervescent tablet microextraction (MMIL-ETM) for preconcentration/extraction of trace phthalate esters (PAEs) in milk matrices. This MMIL-ETM method provided three distinct advantages: (1) MEFTs integrate water-soluble starch as a functional filler, leading to longer tablet storage/stability; (2) combined effervescent dispersion and rapid retrieval of NiFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) result in substantial time saving; and (3) integration of ionic liquid-based extraction with MNP adsorption produces high PAEs extraction recoveries. Optimized experimental parameters were as follows: 0.77 g mixture of Na2CO3 and water-soluble starch, 7 mg NiFe2O4 (30 nm), 50 μL [HMIM]NTf2, solution pH 2.3, and 300 μL acetonitrile as elution solvent. Under optimized conditions, extraction recoveries for four PAEs reached as high as 94.8–105.6%, LODs were as low as 0.042 μg L−1, and RSDs were

The construction industry is a high debt ratio, high operating risk and high financial leverage business. The financial instability causes a chain reaction among funds transferred among companies, therefore restricting competitiveness within the industry. The industry’s character and accounting principles of firm-years are different from that of other industries. Creating a hypothetical model of a financial crisis within the construction industry is therefore necessary. Application of this model to real scenarios involving relevant parties can help to forecast a financial crisis in the future. This study applied the market-based model, accounting-based model, hybrid models to predict a financial crisis. These models were then compared to find which can best predict a company that will default. Also, in this paper choosing variables for the Hybrid and Accounting-based models can promote their performance. Finally, the best can be selected for predicting stability.

To compare the modified Qing Long Bai Wei needling method and ordinary acupuncture method in the effects of improving the levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and to determine the advantage of the modified Qing Long Bai Wei needling method for KOA. One hundred KOA patients were randomized into a treatment group and a control group by using the random number table, with 50 cases in each group. The treatment group was intervened by the modified Qing Long Bai Wei needling method, and the control group was given ordinary acupuncture. The two groups were observed before and after the treatment to determine the changes in the levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in synovial fluid, and the clinical efficacies were compared between the two groups. The total effective rate and clinical recovery rate were 97.9% and 52.1% respectively in the treatment group, versus 85.1% and 25.5% in the control group, and the between-group differences were statistically significant (both P

Two novel coordination polymers, formulated as {[Co3(tcpb)2(bimb)(DMF)]}n (1, bimb = 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benene, DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) and {[Co2(tcpb)(bim)](DMF)3·(Dioxane)2·(H2O)3}n (2, Hbim = benzimidazole) were prepared from 1,3,5-tris(4-carbonylphenyloxy)benzene (H3tcpb), a semi-rigid tripodal carboxylate ligand as well as different N-donor ligands under solvothermal conditions. Due to their excellent water stability, complexes 1 and 2 could be used as catalysts for photocatalytic degradation of dye under the UV irradiation. Furthermore, the protective effect of the compound against colitis-associated colon cancer (CAC) was assessed and the particular mechanism was discussed in this study. Firstly, the real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out to determine the il-6 and stat3 relative expression in the colon cancer cells after treated by compounds 1 and 2. Then, the percentage of the colon cancer cells after treated by compounds 1 and 2 was detected via Annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis assay.

Due to the large reserves, low cost, high security and high energy density, rechargeable multivalent batteries have attracted extensive research enthusiasm for a long time. Multivalent batteries are also supposed as the potential candidates to Li-ion batteries in portable electronic devices and large-scale energy storage units. Unfortunately, most commercial cathode materials in Li-ion batteries cannot be applied in multivalent batteries because of the intensive polarization problem of multivalent intercalated ions (Mg2+, Zn2+, Al3+). Choosing and synthesizing the appropriate cathode materials are the main issues in overcoming the intensive polarization problem. Vanadium-based materials often possess many kinds of oxidation states because of the mutable vanadium element, which can facilitate achieving local electroneutrality and relieve the polarization problem of multivalent ions. In this review, we summarize the researches about the vanadium-based cathode materials for multivalent batteries and highlight the intercalation mechanism of multivalent ions to vanadium-based materials. In addition, different kinds of optimizing strategies are extracted from the literatures. On the basis of our review, progresses and future challenges of vanadium-based cathode materials in rechargeable multivalent batteries are more explicit.

A new ent-abietane diterpernoid, named ebracteolata D (1), along with 11 known analogues, was isolated from the roots of Euphorbia ebracteolata Hayata. The structure of 1 was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and molecular modeling. Cytotoxicity of compounds 1–12 was evaluated as well as the effect on the NF-κB pathway. Among them, compound 12, jolkinolide B, displayed broad inhibitory effects against proliferation of tumor cell lines. Mechanistic studies indicated that the compound 12 can inhibit TNF-α induced NF-κB activation, thereby inducing tumor cell apoptosis. Graphical Abstract Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13659-018-0159-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Herein, a novel magnetic effervescence tablet-assisted microextraction coupled to in situ metathesis reaction of ionic liquid (IS-META-ILDM) is presented for the determination of four endogenous steroids in human urine, pregnant women’s blood, and fetal umbilical cord blood. The magnetic effervescent tablets, which were composed of Fe3O4 nanoparticles, sodium carbonate (alkaline source), and tartaric acid (acidic source), were used to disperse the extractant and for convenient magnetic separation. After the effervescent reaction, in situ reaction between NH4PF6 and [C6MIM]BF4 was adopted to change hydrophilic ionic liquid to hydrophobic liquid, which could be separated from the aqueous phase. The newly developed method has three obvious advantages: (1) combination of effervescent dispersion and magnetic nanoparticles’ retrieval is cost-effective and the dispersion and collection of the extractant can be completed almost simultaneously; (2) as compared to temperature-controlled ionic liquid dispersive microextraction and cold-induced solidified microextraction, this method avoids a heating and cooling process which significantly reduces the extraction time and energy cost; and (3) the combination of adsorption by magnetic nanoparticles with extraction by in situ metathesis reaction easily produces high recoveries for target analytes. The optimized composition of effervescent tablet and experimental parameters are as follows: 0.64 g mixture of sodium carbonate and tartaric acid, 7 mg of Fe3O4 (20 nm) as magnetic sorbents, 40 μL of [C6MIM]BF4 as the extraction solvent, 0.15 g NH4PF6, and 300 μL of elution solvent. Under the optimized conditions, the newly developed method provided high extraction recoveries (90.0–118.5%) and low LODs (0.14–0.17 μg L−1) in urine and blood samples. In total, this IS-META-ILDM method provided high extraction efficiency, fast and convenient separation, and underutilization of any organic solvent, and thus it has great potential for the determination of trace endogenous steroids in complex human fluids.

The effect of two different annealing processes on the microstructure and barrier-forming ability of Cu-Zr alloy films has been investigated. Cu-Zr alloy films were deposited directly onto SiO2/Si substrates via direct current magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed by the vacuum annealing process (VAP) or rapid annealing process under argon atmosphere at temperatures 350°C, 450°C, and 550°C. Then, the microstructure, interface characteristics, and electrical properties of the samples were measured. After annealing, the samples showed a preferential (111) crystal orientation, independent of the annealing process. After two annealing methods, Zr aggregated at the Cu-Zr/SiO2 interface and no serious interdiffusion occurred between Cu and Si. The leakage current measurements revealed that the samples annealed by VAP show a higher reliability. According to the results, the vacuum annealing has better barrier performance than the rapid annealing when used for the fabrication of Cu-based interconnects.

Various strategies, such as the generation of alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase knocked-out pigs and CD55 transgenic pigs, have been investigated to inhibit pig to human xenogeneic rejection. Our aim is to develop strategies to overcome the hurdle of not only hyper acute rejection, but also that of cellular xenogeneic rejection (CXR). Although macrophages have been well known to play a critical role in CXR, monocyte/macrophage-mediated xenogeneic rejection has not been well studied. In this study, we evaluated the effect of CD200 in xenogeneic rejection by macrophages. Naive swine endothelial cells (SEC) and SEC/CD200 were co-cultured with M0 macrophages and the cytotoxicity was measured by a WST-8 assay. The phagocytosis of SEC and SEC/CD200 by macrophages was analyzed by flow cytometry. While CD200 failed to suppress a significant amount of cytotoxicity against SEC by monocytes, M0 macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity was significantly suppressed by human CD200. The phagocytosis by M0 macrophages was also tested. The phagocytosis assay revealed that human CD200 suppresses M0 macrophage-mediated phagocytosis. Our findings indicate that human CD200 suppresses the xenogeneic rejection by CD200R+ macrophages and that the generation of hCD200 transgenic pigs for use in xenografts is very attractive for preventing the macrophage-mediated rejection.

As the technology in automation and computation advances, traffic data can be easily collected from multiple sources, such as sensors and surveillance cameras. To extract value from the huge volumes of available data requires the capability to process and extract patterns in large datasets. In this paper, a machine learning method embedded within a big data analytics platform is constructed by using random forests method and Apache Hadoop to predict highway travel time based on data collected from highway electronic toll collection in Taiwan. Various prediction models are then developed for highway travel time based on historical and real-time data to provide drivers with estimated and adjusted travel time information.

Zircon is probably the most important mineral used in the dating formation of high-pressure (HP) and ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks. The origin of zircon, i.e., magmatic or metamorphic, is commonly assessed by its external morphology, internal structure, mineral inclusions, Th/U ratios and trace element composition. In this study, we present an unusual case of metamorphic zircon from the Qiangtang eclogite, north-central Tibet. The zircon grains contain numerous eclogite-facies mineral inclusions, including omphacite, phengite, garnet and rutile; hence, they are clearly of metamorphic origin. However, they display features similar to common magmatic zircon, including euhedral crystal habit, high Th/U ratios and enriched heavy rare earth elements pattern. We suggest that these zircon grains formed from a different reservoir from that for garnet where no trace elements was present and trace element equilibrium between zircon and garnet was achieved. U–Pb dating of zircon gave an age of 232–237 Ma for the eclogite, and that of rutile yielded a slightly younger age of ca. 217 Ma. These ages are consistent with the reported Lu–Hf mineral isochron and phengite Ar–Ar ages. The zircon U–Pb and mineral Lu–Hf isochron ages are interpreted as the time of the peak eclogite-facies metamorphism, whereas the rutile U–Pb and phengite Ar–Ar ages represent the time of exhumation to the middle crust. Thus, the distinction between metamorphic and magmatic zircons cannot be made using only Th/U ratios and heavy REE compositions for HP–UHP metamorphic rocks of oceanic derivation.

Cardiovascular disease is a growing major global public health problem. Oxidative stress is regarded as one of the key regulators of pathological physiology, which eventually leads to cardiovascular disease. However, mechanisms by which FGF-2 rescues cells from oxidative stress damage in cardiovascular disease is not fully elucidated. Herein this study was designed to investigate the protective effects of FGF-2 in H2O2-induced apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes, as well as the possible signaling pathway involved. Apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes was induced by H2O2 and assessed using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, Hoechst, and TUNEL staining. Cells were pretreated with PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 to investigate the possible PI3K/Akt pathways involved in the protection of FGF-2. The levels of p-Akt, p-FoxO3a, and Bim were detected by immunoblotting. Stimulation with H2O2 decreased the phosphorylation of Akt and FoxO3a, and induced nuclear localization of FoxO3a and apoptosis of H9c2 cells. These effects of H2O2 were abrogated by pretreatment with FGF-2. Furthermore, the protective effects of FGF-2 were abolished by PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002. In conclusion, our data suggest that FGF-2 protects against H2O2-induced apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes via activation of the PI3K/Akt/FoxO3a pathway.

To perfect the enzymatic properties of AuMan5A, a mesophilic glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 5 β-mannanase from Aspergillus usamii, its loop-structure substitution was carried out by rational design and followed by megaprimer PCR. Based on the structural analysis and enzymatic property comparison of various β-mannanases, a piece of loop-structure with seven amino acids between two β-strands (βD and βE) in the substrate-binding groove, named "Loop DE," was speculated to be correlative to the thermostability and catalytic efficiency of GH family 5 β-mannanases. Therefore, three AuMan5A's mutants, AuMan5A-Af, AuMan5A-An, and AuMan5A-Th, were designed by substituting a Loop DE sequence ((316)KSPDGGN(322)) of AuMan5A with the corresponding sequences of other three family 5 β-mannanases, respectively. Then, the mutant-encoding genes, Auman5A-Af, Auman5A-An, and Auman5A-Th, were constructed as designed theoretically and then expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115. The expressed recombinant AuMan5A-Af (re-AuMan5A-Af) displayed the temperature optimum (T opt) of 75 °C, T m value of 76.6 °C and half-life (t 1/2) of 480 min at 70 °C, which were 10 and 12.1 °C higher and 48-fold longer than those of re-AuMan5A, respectively. Its catalytic efficiency (k cat/K m) was 12.7-fold that of re-AuMan5A. What is more, the site-directed mutagenesis of D320G in AuMan5A-Af was performed. The T opt and t 1/2 of expressed re-AuMan5A-Af(D320G) decreased to 70 °C and 40 min, respectively, while its k cat/K m was only 35 % of that of re-AuMan5A-Af. These results demonstrated that the mutation of G320 (in AuMan5A) into D320 (in AuMan5A-Af) through Loop DE substitution was mainly responsible for the thermostability and catalytic efficiency improvement of AuMan5A-Af.

Super-broadband near-infrared (NIR) emission from 1100 nm to 1600 nm is observed in Bi-doped titanate glasses at the excitation of 808 nm laser diode (LD). The effects of Bi content on the optical spectra are investigated. It is also found that the Bi-related emission intensity can be enhanced by Yb3+ co-doping at the excitation of 980 nm LD. It should be ascribed to the energy transfer from Yb3+ to active Bi ions. The energy transfer processes are studied based on the Inokuti-Hirayama (I-H) model, and the energy transfer of electric dipole-dipole interaction is confirmed to be dominant in Bi/Yb co-doped glasses.

In this work, we demonstrated a viable experimental scheme for in-situ probing the effects of Au nanoparticles (NPs) incorporation on plasmonic energy transfer in Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells by elaborately analyzing the lifetimes and zero moment for hot carrier relaxation with ultrabroadband femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. The signals of enhanced photobleach (PB) and waned photoinduced absorption (PIA) attributable to surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Au NPs were in-situ probed in transient differential absorption spectra. The results suggested that substantial carriers can be excited from ground state to lower excitation energy levels, which can reach thermalization much faster with the existence of SPR. Thus, direct electron transfer (DET) could be implemented to enhance the photocurrent of CIGS solar cells. Furthermore, based on the extracted hot carrier lifetimes, it was confirmed that the improved electrical transport might have been resulted primarily from the reduction in the surface recombination of photoinduced carriers through enhanced local electromagnetic field (LEMF). Finally, theoretical calculation for resonant energy transfer (RET)-induced enhancement in the probability of exciting electron-hole pairs was conducted and the results agreed well with the enhanced PB peak of transient differential absorption in plasmonic CIGS film. These results indicate that plasmonic energy transfer is a viable approach to boost high-efficiency CIGS solar cells.

In the original publication, the fifth author name was erroneously published as "Patmika Jiaravuthiasan". The correct author name should read as, "Patmika Jiaravuthisan". The original article was corrected.

To compare the clinical outcome of IVF treatment after pituitary suppression with two different oral contraceptives (OCs).65 patients who received IVF treatment was classified into 2 groups based on the difference of OCs they used for pituitary suppression before ovarian hyperstimulation. Group 1 included 36 patients who received monophasic OCs. Group 2 included 29 patients who received triphastic OCs. Both groups received the OCs from the 5th day of the cycle for consecutive 21 days. The hormone profiles after OCs and clinical outcome of IVF treatment were compared between two groups. Two-sample t-tests and X2 tests were used for statistical analyses. P0.05 was considered statistically significant.The mean age and basal hormone profiles were comparable between two groups. After ovulation suppression with different OCs, the day 2 FSH and LH value revealed statistically significant difference between two groups(4.2+/-1.8 vs 6.0+/-2.6; 2.7+/-2.0 vs 4.2+/-3.3 respectively). The numbers of oocyte per retrieval and fertilization rate were comparable between two groups, but higher quality embryos as revealed by the cleavage speed were noted in the triphastic OCs group. Although statistically not significant, higher implantation rate and pregnancy rate were also noted in the triphastic OCs group.Different OCs for pituitary suppression can result in different hormone profiles. Ovulation induction in IVF treatment should be individualized according to these hormone changes to achieve the optimal clinical outcome. Triphastic OCs exceeds monophastic OCs in producing good quality embryo in IVF-ET treatment.

Lysosome-associated protein transmembrane-4 beta (LAPTM4B) is a novel oncogene, which has been indicated to be dramatically overexpressed in various malignant tumors. The aims of this study were to detect LAPTM4B protein expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and then analyze the relationships of LAPTM4B protein with clinicopathologic factors, tumor angiogenesis and prognosis with SPSS statistical software. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of LAPTM4B and CD34 proteins in NSCLC tissues, and its results showed that LAPTM4B protein expression in NSCLC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal lung tissues (P < 0.001). Of the186 NSCLC cases, 129 (69.35 %) had strong expression of LAPTM4B protein, which was associated with histopathologic differentiation (P = 0.017), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001) and TNM stage (P = 0.046), as well as the microvessel density (MVD) (P = 0.019). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that patients with strong LAPM4B protein expression and high MVD might have poor overall survival (OS; P = 0.001, P = 0.002, respectively) and disease-free survival (DFS; P = 0.002, P = 0.038, respectively). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that LAPTM4B protein was an independent prognostic marker for OS and DFS of NSCLC patients (P = 0.037, P = 0.046, respectively). These findings illustrated that LAPTM4B protein was closely associated with NSCLC progression, angiogenesis and poor prognosis, suggesting that LAPTM4B protein could be applied not only in predicting patient's outcome, but also in antiangiogenic therapy as a possible novel target molecule.

"Rhupus syndrome" is a rare clinical condition, which is related to anti-CCP antibody, characterized by overlapping clinical and immunologic features of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Previous reports mentioned that patients have more RA-associated damage, and little organic damage associated with SLE. The severe organ damage, especially central nervous system involvement has been reported to be rare in patients with rhupus syndrome. Here, we report a very rare concurrence of RA, SLE and diffuse lupus encephalopathy in a Chinese woman.

We propose deposition noise to be an important factor in unstable epitaxial growth of thin films. Our analysis yields a geometrical relation H=(RWL)^2 between the typical mound height W, mound size L, and the film thickness H. Simulations of realistic systems show that the parameter R is a characteristic of the growth conditions, and generally lies in the range 0.2-0.7. The constancy of R in late-stage coarsening yields a scaling relation between the coarsening exponent 1/z and the mound height exponent \beta which, in the case of saturated mound slope, gives \beta = 1/z = 1/4., Comment: 4 pages, RevTex Macros, 3 eps figures

Using bacteria as therapeutic agents against solid tumors is emerging as an area of great potential in the treatment of cancer. Obligate and facultative anaerobic bacteria have been shown to infiltrate the hypoxic regions of solid tumors, thereby reducing their growth rate or causing regression. However, a major challenge for bacterial therapy of cancer with facultative anaerobes is avoiding damage to normal tissues. Consequently the virulence of bacteria must be adequately attenuated for therapeutic use. By placing an essential gene under a hypoxia conditioned promoter, Salmonella Typhimurium strain SL7207 was engineered to survive only in anaerobic conditions (strain YB1) without otherwise affecting its functions. In breast tumor bearing nude mice, YB1 grew within the tumor, retarding its growth, while being rapidly eliminated from normal tissues. YB1 provides a safe bacterial vector for anti-tumor therapies without compromising the other functions or tumor fitness of the bacterium as attenuation methods normally do.

We investigate the ground-state properties of two lines with “on-site” repulsion on disordered Cayley tree and (Berker) hierarchical lattices, in connection with the question of multiple “pure states” for the corresponding one-line problem. Exact recursion relations for the distribution of ground-state energies and of the overlaps are derived. Based on a numerical study of the recursion relations, we establish that the total interaction energy on average is asymptotically proportional to the width δ of the ground-state energy fluctuation of a single line for both weak and strong (i.e., hard-core) repulsion. When the lengtht of the lines is finite, there is a finite probability of ordert −a for (nearly) degenerate, nonoverlapping one-line ground-state configurations, in which case the interaction energy vanishes. We show thata=ω (δ∼t ω) on hierarchical lattices. Monte Carlo transfer matrix calculation on a (1+1)-dimensional model yields the same scaling for the interaction energy but ana different from ω=1/3. Finitelength scalings of the distribution of the interaction energy and of the overlap are also discussed.

The steady-state height-height correlation function for the (1 + 1)-dimensional single-step model is calculated in a large-scale Monte Carlo simulation. Analysis of the data yields a universal ratio of scaling amplitudes which differs from the value obtained recently from a mode-coupling calculation. An empirical form for a universal scaling function is also presented.

We present a deposition and evaporation model for surface growth under a solid-on-solid constraint. We generalize the Ising-spin representation of a two-dimensional surface by Blote and Hilhorst to ad-dimensional surface of a (d+1)-dimensional hypercubic lattice. The allowed surface configurations correspond to the (degenerate) ground states of a chirald-state Potts model. We describe a vectorized multisite-coding implementation for the corresponding kinetic Potts-spin model ford=2 andd=3. For thed=2 equilibrium surface our simulation results show excellent agreement with an exact analysis.