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Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by joint swelling, pain, and deformation. RA patients have an increased risk of thyroid dysfunction, and drugs of RA treatment may have potential effects on thyroid function. Methods: This is a single-center cross-sectional study including 281 inpatients with RA in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between RA therapeutic drugs and thyroid function. The medical records of 281 inpatients with RA were collected, including general data, laboratory examination, complications, and RA treatment. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the association of independent variables with thyroid function and antibodies in RA patients. Multinomial logistics and binary logistic regression were used for multivariate analysis. The statistically significance level was set as P < 0.05. SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Patients taking methotrexate (OR = 0.067, 95%CI: 0.008–0.588, P = 0.015) had lower levels of total thyroxine (TT4) (TT4 < 78.38 nmol/L). There was a negative correlation between glucocorticoids (r = − 0.153, P = 0.010) and total triiodothyronine (TT3) level (TT3 ≥ 1.34 nmol/L), but it was not significant in the multivariate regression model of TT3, although the regression model was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Methotrexate is associated with decreased TT4 levels in RA patients, and glucocorticoids is associated with decreased TT3 levels. Drugs of RA treatment may affect the thyroid function of patients while treating RA, which may be one of the causes of secondary thyroid diseases in RA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) have been widely investigated for wireless systems. Most LWAs reported to date are open-path based, i.e., their guided traveling waves follow a non-closed path. A substrate-integrated (SI) toroidal waveguide-based LWA is developed in this article. A coaxial-fed probe structure effectively excites traveling waves that propagate along a closed path in the toroidal waveguide. Inverted L- and planar helical-shaped radiators, whose pickup structures extract power from the waveguide through its top wall, are introduced to radiate, respectively, linearly-polarized (LP) and circularly-polarized (CP) directed beams. The dispersion properties of the closed waveguide’s traveling wave are determined and the associated propagation phase along circular paths with specific radii guides the placement of these radiators to achieve a directive beam at a specified angle. Prototypes of both the LP and CP toroidal LWA (TLWA) systems were fabricated and tested. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results was obtained. The measurements of the compact, low-cost LP and CP prototype systems confirm they radiate beams pointed in their distinctly different, specified directions with realized gains of 13.2 dBi and 13.9 dBic, respectively, at 9.75 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Typically, Jaccoud arthropathy (JA) is characterized by joint deformation without bone erosion. However, some recent studies have shown that bone erosion also occurs in JA; however, this remains controversial. To date, there have been no unified diagnostic standards for JA. Herein, we report a case of systemic lupus erythematosus complicated with JA without bone erosion. Methods: A 27‐year‐old woman was admitted to our department with a 2‐year history of pain, swelling, and progressive deformities of her hands and feet. She was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus and class V lupus nephritis 5 years prior. Upon examination, her erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C‐reactive protein levels were found to be increased. She was positive for antinuclear antibodies, antidouble stranded DNA antibodies, and antiextractable nuclear antigen antibodies, with a decreased complement C3 and C4. Radiography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed no bone erosion. The patient was diagnosed with JA. She was treated with oral prednisone (10 mg daily), tofacitinib (5 mg twice daily), methotrexate (10 mg weekly), and celecoxib (0.2 g twice daily). Results: The patient's joint symptoms improved after treatment. No further progress was observed during the 4‐month follow‐up period. Conclusion: We believe that bone erosion is the key to distinguish rhupus syndrome from JA. However, this needs to be confirmed with further long‐term follow‐up studies. We found that the use tofacitinib, MTX, and celecoxib in combination with prednisone may be an effective regimen for the treatment of JA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slot-based cavity antennas are hailed as promising candidates for millimeter-wave applications. Nevertheless, the linear-polarization (LP) angle of their broadside main beam is limited by the slots etched on the cavity’s top surface. In this work, an innovative technique is developed to significantly improve the selection flexibility of their LP inclination angle. It is attained by an integration of a single-layer, closely spaced C-shaped patch surface. A TE710-mode slot-based cavity antenna is employed as the base configuration, which radiates a broadside beam with its LP along $\phi = 90^{\circ }$. To effectively predict and monitor the polarization conversion of the surface-integrated TE710-mode cavity antenna, an analysis method using a unit cavity extracted from its original cavity antenna is presented. A subsequent surface-integrated system with the specified 45° LP was then simulated, fabricated, and measured. The measured results validate that a 45° LP state is achieved with an operating bandwidth from 33.3 to 36.5 GHz. Further investigation is conducted to flexibly choose the LP direction from $\phi = 15^{\circ }$ to 165°. Two more examples with the fabricated antenna prototypes successfully radiate the specified $\phi = 15^{\circ }$ and 75° LP beams, respectively. This near-field polarization conversion surface can be generalized to cavities with different resonant modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization reconfigurable antennas at millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequencies are important technologies for 5G and beyond wireless communications systems. This article presents an mm-wave multi-linear polarization (LP) reconfigurable antenna. It employs a resonant TM510-mode air-filled cavity as the base, and a circular array of slots is uniformly etched on its top surface to provide a rotationally symmetrical “excitation” for the multi-LP antenna. An upper substrate printed with engineered patch layers is introduced above the slots for an in-phase high-gain composition, and it is mechanically rotated to facilitate the multi-LP reconfiguration. Each slot radiation is separately monitored and analyzed by using single-slot cavity models. A final multi-LP antenna that can switch among five LP states at mm-wave band was constructed. To overcome the classic high sidelobe problem associated with circular arrays, a modified bottom layer is introduced to the multi-LP antenna. The measured overlapped bandwidth of the optimized multi-LP antenna ranges from 28.58 to 28.99 GHz. For all of the five LP states, the simulated and measured sidelobe levels are −13 and −10 dB, respectively. The measured realized gains are varied from 15.5 to 16.8 dBi in the overlapped operating bandwidth. This is the first time to report an mm-wave multi-LP reconfigurable antenna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-gain single-feed antennas are desired for current and future wireless systems. Slot-based highly overmoded cavity antennas are one solution, but the fact that they can only radiate broadside beams limits their applications. An innovative phase-control technique is developed for slot-based resonant cavity antennas that utilize a planar array of closely spaced, appropriately sized metallic patches integrated into the very near field of their slot arrays. It facilitates the design and realization of the phase distribution over their radiating aperture that is required for them to generate single and/or multiple tilted beams pointed at specified directions. A TE(10)(11)(0)-mode slot-based cavity antenna is selected as the pathfinder system. A TE110-mode single-slot cavity antenna that is equivalent to the half-wavelength subsection of that cavity is introduced initially to monitor the phase radiated from each slot. The phase control surface is then carefully engineered to facilitate tilted output beams from the base design. The approach is validated with two subsequent tilted-beam systems. The first system achieves a single beam tilted to 30° with respect to the broadside direction. The second system is extended to produce two independently directed titled beams pointing at −10° and 20°, respectively. All of the measured results agree well with their simulated values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 mRNA in situ hybridization (HPV E6/E7 RNAscope) appears to be a sensitive and specific technique in detecting transcriptionally active HPV. We aimed to examine the diagnostic utility of this technique in endocervical adenocarcinoma (ECA), to explore the prognostic factors for ECA patients and develop a clinically useful nomogram based on clinicopathological parameters to predict it. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 200 patients with ECA who had undergone surgery at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from 2010 and 2014. The diagnostic performance of HPV E6/E7 RNAscope were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A prognostic nomogram model including HPV E6/E7 RNAscope was generated based on multivariate Cox regression analysis, then we compared the predictive accuracy of the prognostic model with FIGO staging and treatment using concordance index (C-index), time-dependent ROC (tdROC), and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: The sensitivity and specificity of HPV E6/E7 RNAscope for distinguishing HPV-associated adenocarcinoma (HPVA) from non-HPV-associated adenocarcinoma (NHPVA) in the whole cohort were 75.8% and 80%, respectively. According the univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis, age, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), lymph node involvement (LNI), and HPV E6/E7 RNAscope were valuable predictive factors for OS. These parameters were incorporated into the nomogram model (nomogram A) compared with FIGO stage and treatment. The C-index of nomogram A for predicting OS was 0.825, which was significantly higher than FIGO stage (C-index = 0.653, p = 0.002) and treatment (C-index = 0.578, p < 0.001). Conclusions: HPV E6/E7 RNAscope is highly specific for ECA, and the 4-variable nomogram showed more accurate prognostic outcomes in patients with ECA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Recent studies have suggested a potential association between methotrexate use and an increased risk of dementia. However, the causal relationship between methotrexate and dementia remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the potential causal effect of methotrexate use on the risk of dementia using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) approach. Methods: We conducted a TSMR study using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of methotrexate use and dementia. We obtained genetic instruments for methotrexate use from a large-scale GWAS meta-analysis and genetic instruments for dementia from a separate GWAS meta-analysis. We performed several statistical analyses, including inverse-variance weighted (IVW), weighted median (WM1), weighted mode (WM2), and MR-Egger regression methods, to estimate the causal effect of methotrexate on dementia risk. Results: Our TSMR analysis showed a significant positive association between genetic predisposition to methotrexate use and dementia risk. The IVW method estimated a causal odds ratio (OR) of 0.476 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.362–0.626] per unit increase in the log odds ratio of methotrexate use. WM1, WM2, and MR-Egger methods provided consistent results. Conclusion: The findings of this mendelian randomization (MR) study suggest a potential causal effect of methotrexate use on the risk of dementia. However, further research is needed to validate these findings and explore the underlying mechanisms. Since methotrexate is widely prescribed for various autoimmune diseases, a better understanding of its potential impact on dementia risk is crucial for optimizing treatment strategies and addressing potential adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A technique to miniaturize the size of a slot antenna is presented. Square‐shaped loops, dumbbell‐shaped slots, and strips together with small circular patches and shorting vias are loaded on the two ends of the main radiating slot for the antenna miniaturization. A step‐by‐step analysis of miniaturizing the antenna is provided. It is shown here that the antenna can be miniaturized, that is, the resonance frequency is lowered, by over 56% using this technique. This antenna is realized into a prototype, and the size reduction is verified experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple single-layer reconfigurable leaky-wave antenna (LWA) is presented that has polarization agility and beam-scanning functionality. This LWA system realizes a scanned beam that can be switched between all of its linear polarization (LP) and circular polarization (CP) states using only one dc biasing source. A slot-loaded substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW)-based LWA is first explored to attain CP performance with continuous beam scanning through broadside. This CP LWA realizes a measured CP performance with a 3 dB gain variance within 2.75–3.35 GHz for scan angles ranging from −28.6° to +31.5°. A row of shorted stubs is then incorporated into the CP LWA to obtain similar LP performance. Finally, by introducing p-i-n diodes into this LP LWA configuration to facilitate reconfigurable connections between the main patch and the shorted stubs, the radiated fields can be switched between all of its CP and LP states. The measured results of all three antennas confirm their simulated performance. It is demonstrated that the main beam of the polarization-reconfigurable LWA can be scanned from −31.5° to +17.1° with gain variations between 9.5 and 12.8 dBic in its CP state and from −34.3° to +20° with them between 7.8 and 11.7 dBi in its LP state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fixed-frequency beam scanning leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) that can scan their main beam over a specific frequency band are highly desired for future wireless communication systems. A composite right-/left-handed (CRLH) LWA is developed in this article that facilitates fixed-frequency continuous beam scanning over a wide operational frequency band. A variation of a simple single-layer nonreconfigurable frequency-based continuous beam scanning CRLH LWA is considered first. Its dispersion properties are approximately investigated using an equivalent circuit model. It is reported how two groups of varactor diodes can be incorporated into its basic circuit model to electronically control its dispersion behavior. An optimized reconfigurable CRLH LWA with practical dc biasing lines is then realized from this nonreconfigurable design. Fixed-frequency continuous beam scanning, from backward to forward directions through broadside, is reported over a wide operational frequency band. Simulations predict that the antenna can operate from 4.75 to 5.25 GHz with the main beam being continuously scannable at each frequency point. A prototype was fabricated, assembled, and tested. The measured results confirm its simulated performance characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circularly polarized (CP) antennas are in high demand for use in future wireless communications. To advance the development of CP substrate-integrated-waveguide (SIW) leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) with the intent to meet this demand, a novel benzene-ring-shaped slot-loaded LWA with partially reflecting wall (PRW) vias is investigated and verified to realize wide-angle continuous beam scanning with consistent gain. The dispersion features of slot-loaded SIW LWAs with PRW vias are theoretically explored using an equivalent circuit model. The CP radiation feature is investigated numerically utilizing the E- and H-field distributions of an initial design and its equivalent magnetic currents. The results of these studies are used to demonstrate that improved CP performance over a wide-angle scan range can be attained with a change from a standard slot shape to a benzene-ring-shaped slot. The resulting benzene-ring-shaped slot-loaded CP SIW LWA was optimized, fabricated, and measured. The measured results verify that a CP beam was continuously scanned through a wide angle from backward to forward directions with a consistent gain. The prototype exhibits a continuous 97.1° CP beam scan with a gain variation between 8 and 11.3 dBic when the source frequency is swept from 9.35 to 11.75 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reconfigurable, wideband, and low-profile circular polarization (CP) antenna is presented. Its wideband CP reconfigurability is realized by incorporating RF switches into a cross-bowtie radiator. A compact, wide bandwidth, and polarization-independent artificial magnetic conductor ground plane is developed to minimize the overall profile of the antenna while maintaining its wide bandwidth. The simplicity of this single-element design facilitates the realization of a reconfigurable, wide bandwidth CP array that achieves higher directivity without changing its overall profile. Prototypes of the single element and of a $1 \times 4$ array of these elements were fabricated and tested. The measured results for both prototypes are in good agreement with their simulated values, validating their design principles. They are low profile with a height \sim 0.05\lambda _{\mathrm {\mathbf {0}}} . The array exhibits a wide fractional operational bandwidth: 1.65 GHz (21.7%), and a high realized gain: 13 dBic. Since they would enhance their channel capacity and avoid polarization mismatch issues, these reconfigurable CP antenna systems are very suitable for modern wireless systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A major challenge for a combined reconfigurable antenna is to realize both polarization switching and beam steering independently in a compact antenna structure. A cavity-backed proximity-coupled reconfigurable microstrip antenna proposed in this communication provides an efficient solution. Beam lead p-i-n diodes DSM8100–000 are employed as switching elements to achieve reconfiguration. Three different linear polarizations (0°, 45°, and 90°) are realized by switching the diodes on a proximity-coupled feed network. For each polarization state, the main beam can be steered to three directions by using a reconfigurable parasitic-element network. The parasitic-element network is printed on the same plane of the radiating patch, thereby making the antenna compact. This antenna has nine different working modes, and for all the working modes, the reflection coefficients are below −10 dB with the measured realized gains ranging from 7.2 to 8.1 dBi. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel multi-linear polarization (multi-LP) reconfigurable unidirectional circular patch antenna is proposed, which can switch among four LPs at every 45° rotation. The patch antenna is fed in the center and shorting posts are used to excite TM11 mode with LP. By controlling the connections between the four shorting posts and the ground plane using p-i-n diodes, four reconfigurable polarization states at \phi =0 ^\circ , \phi =45 ^\circ , \phi =90 ^\circ , or \phi =135 ^\circ can be realized. The size of this antenna is about $0.57\lambda \times 0.57\lambda \times 0.07\lambda $ at 2.45 GHz. It can be easily fabricated and has a simple biasing network. The measured overlapping impedance bandwidth for different polarizations under the condition |\text{S}11| \leq -10 dB is from 2.33 to 2.50 GHz, which agrees well with the simulated one. Moreover, the antenna maintains stable radiation patterns and the measured realized gains range from 5.3 to 5.9 dBi. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Determining the mainlobe region of an arbitrary pattern is a critical problem in the two-dimensional numerical pattern synthesis (2-D-NPS) method in which a number of artificial interferences with appropriate powers are distributed outside of the mainlobe region. In this communication, a novel mainlobe region determination procedure based on the seeded region growing (SRG) method is proposed. Two different stopping criterions are introduced. Several numerical synthesis examples for uniformly and nonuniformly spaced planar arrays as well as a cylindrical array with directive elements, are presented to validate the effectiveness of the 2-D-NPS with the proposed mainlobe determination procedure. The two stopping criterions are also compared with these examples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Osteoblastoma (OB) is an uncommon mostly benign, vascular, osteoid-forming bone tumor, characterized by histological presence of rich in osteoblasts. The OBs of temporal bone are extremely rare. We reported a 27-year-old woman patient with recurrent temporal bone OB, who had three different diagnoses and underwent four operations. The purpose of the present case was to interpret the different clinical and radiological character of the tumor in different stages showed interestingly in one case. Meanwhile, to make a review on this disease further explored the general clinical, histological, and radiological features and treatment and prognosis of the tumor. It's proved that the clinical presentation and radiographic studies were in accordance with the character of different stage of the tumor. Total resection should be advocated whenever possible, due to good prognosis and relatively low recurrence, even in the recurrent cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel method of synthesizing shaped-beam cylindrical conformal array by rotating the antenna elements and optimizing their excitation phases is presented. Rotation of antennas on curved surface is mathematically described by rotating its vectorial active element pattern (VAEP) in its local coordinate system (LCS). Then the scalar patterns and polarization unit vectors of all the rotated VAEPs are properly transformed and then interpolated at a unified angle sampling grid in a common coordinate system, where they are summed to obtain an approximated array expression. With this expression, element rotations and phases can be optimized using the constriction factor particle swarm optimization (CF-PSO) to synthesize desired shaped-beam pattern with controlled sidelobe level (SLL) and cross-polarization level (XPL). However, since rotations on curved surface introduce considerable variations to the element curvature and mutual coupling (MC), the synthesized array pattern would have considerable errors. A refined strategy is adopted then to improve the synthesis accuracy. The proposed method uses uniform amplitude weighting, thus saving many unequal power dividers. Three typical shaped pattern synthesis examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. A cylindrical array prototype with 24 rotated U-slot loaded patch antennas is fabricated and measured for practical validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have reported low serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in dermatomyositis (DM) patients, but the exact causal relationship between them remains elusive. Our aim is to confirm the causal relationship between 25(OH)D and DM risk through a Mendelian randomization study. Methods: Retrieve genome‐wide association study (GWAS) data on 25(OH)D (n = 441 291) and DM (n cases = 201, n controls = 172 834) from the GWAS database (https://gwas.mrcieu.ac.uk/). Select single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) strongly correlated with 25(OH)D as instrumental variables (IVs). The primary analytical approach involves the use of the inverse‐variance weighted method (IVW), supplemented by MR‐Egger regression and weighted median methods to enhance the reliability of the results. Heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses were conducted using Cochran's Q and leave‐one‐out approaches, respectively. Results: The IVW analysis confirmed a positive causal relationship between genetic variation in 25(OH)D levels and DM (OR = 2.36, 95% CI = 1.01–5.52, p =.048). Although not statistically significant (all p >.05), the other methods also suggested a protective effect of 25(OH)D on DM. Based on MR‐Egger intercepts and Cochran's Q analysis, the selected SNPs showed no horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated the robustness of the results against individual SNPs. Conclusion: We provide the first evidence of a causal relationship between 25(OH)D levels and DM. Our findings support the importance of measuring serum 25(OH)D levels and considering vitamin D supplementation in clinical practice for patients with DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transmitarray antenna with an elliptical cylindrical shape is presented for a wide-angle multibeam radiation in this communication. The transmitarray has a cylindrical radiating aperture with an elliptical cross-section, namely, elliptical cylindrical shape. Multiple feeds can be placed on the middle horizontal plane to realize multiple beams. Inspired by a 2-D Ruze lens, the antenna shape and the phase compensation are jointly designed according to the desired maximal beam direction. Innovative methods including a feed refocusing analysis and a virtual focal length are utilized to achieve the phase compensation across the 3-D aperture for multiple beam radiations with a small scanning loss. In order to validate the proposed antenna, a prototype operating in the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) $E$ -band has been designed, fabricated, and measured. By changing the position of the feeding gain horn along the refocusing arc, the main beam of antenna can be scanned in 11 directions. The measured peak boresight realized gain is 27 dBi at 70.5 GHz and a beam coverage of ±43° with a less than 2.7 dB scanning loss is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood-based biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) response in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are lacking, so it is necessary to identify biomarkers to select NPC patients who will benefit most or least from ICIs. The absolute values of lymphocyte subpopulations, biochemical indexes, and blood routine tests were determined before ICIs-based treatments in the training cohort (n = 130). Then, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) Cox regression analysis was developed to construct a prediction model. The performances of the prediction model were compared to TNM stage, treatment, and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) DNA using the concordance index (C-index). Progression-free survival (PFS) was estimated by Kaplan–Meier (K–M) survival curve. Other 63 patients were used for validation cohort. The novel model composed of histologic subtypes, CD19+ B cells, natural killer (NK) cells, regulatory T cells, red blood cells (RBC), AST/ALT ratio (SLR), apolipoprotein B (Apo B), and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH). The C-index of this model was 0.784 in the training cohort and 0.735 in the validation cohort. K–M survival curve showed patients with high-risk scores had shorter PFS compared to the low-risk groups. For predicting immune therapy responses, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC), decision curve analysis (DCA), net reclassifcation improvement index (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement index (IDI) of this model showed better predictive ability compared to EBV DNA. In this study, we constructed a novel model for prognostic prediction and immunotherapeutic response prediction in NPC patients, which may provide clinical assistance in selecting those patients who are likely to gain long-lasting clinical benefits to anti-PD-1 therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A composite right/left-handed (CRLH) leaky-wave antenna (LWA) can effectively scan the radiation beam from backward-to-forward direction. However, in most cases, a large range of frequency sweep is required to achieve a wide-angle beam scan, which could limit their applications. An in-depth study is conducted on an equivalent circuit model for a CRLH LWA unit cell to find the controlling parameters on the frequency sweeping range. A systematic design guideline is given for a CRLH LWA for a wide-angle beam scan in a flexibly chosen frequency range. It is shown that beam scanning by sweeping frequency in a target range can be achieved by systematically designing the unit cell parameters. To verify our approach, a novel CRLH unit cell is developed and used to design an LWA for a wide-angle beam scan in a narrow frequency range. Finally, the concept is validated through realization of the antenna and its measurement. The measured results show that the antenna prototype can scan its beam from −56° to +51° when frequency sweeps from 5.1 to 6.11 GHz (i.e., 18.02% of fractional bandwidth). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazing SiO 2f /SiO 2 ceramics to TC4 is often associated with the problems of excessive Ti from the dissolution of TC4 and high residual stress, which results in low-strength joints. To overcome these problems, here we put forward an effective method by introducing Cu foam as interlayer to obtain high-strength joints of SiO 2f /SiO 2 -TC4. The effect of Cu foam on the microstructure and mechanical properties of brazed joints was investigated. Cu foam can consume Ti from TC4 and inhibit forming too many brittle compounds at the SiO 2f /SiO 2 side. Furthermore, Cu foam can react with Ti, forming the dispersed homogeneous distribution of fine-grained Ti-Cu compounds in the brazing seam, due to its unique 3D porous structure. The formation and distribution of fine-grained Ti-Cu compounds at the brazing seam could significantly help to reduce the residual stress and reinforce the mechanical properties of the joint. Maximum shear strength of 59.6 MPa is approached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-quality joint between SiO 2f /SiO 2 and Nb was achieved by regulating the surface structure of SiO 2f /SiO 2 . The fused silica as fillers in SiO 2f /SiO 2 surface layer was consumed by etching treatment, and quartz fibers braided in two dimensions were left. By etching treatment, the wettability of SiO 2f /SiO 2 was improved and the contact angle dropped from 138° to 37°. Furthermore, the surface structure of SiO 2f /SiO 2 was deviated from a flat to a 3D-weave, which induced the brazing alloy infiltrating into SiO 2f /SiO 2 and formed a “3D-pinning structure” in joint. It could reduce residual stress and enlarge joining area, which strengthened the joint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous reports have conceptualized theory of mind (ToM) as comprising two components and questioned whether ToM deficits are associated with psychotic symptoms. We investigated 33 nonpsychotic depressed inpatients, 23 psychotic depressed inpatients, and 53 normal controls with the following measures: Eyes Task, Faux pas Task, Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), Digit Span Test (DST) and WAIS-IQ. The depressed patients were also evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). The nonpsychotic depressed patients and the psychotic depressed individuals were significantly impaired on tasks involving ToM social-perceptual and social-cognitive components, as well as the VFT. The psychotic depressed patients performed significantly worse than nonpsychotic depressed patients on ToM tasks. An association was found between ToM performances and both BPRS total and hostile-suspiciousness scores in the depressed group. Both of the ToM components were impaired in depressed patients. Similar mechanisms and neurobiological substrate may contribute to schizophrenia and major depression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For many leaky-wave antennas (LWAs), it is challenging to realize beam scanning through broadside. A problem is the presence of an open stopband (OSB), which restricts radiation in the broadside direction. In this paper, a novel substrate integrated waveguide (SIW)-based LWA is described to overcome the OSB problem and provide beam scanning continuously from the backward to the forward direction from a conventional periodic LWA. It is demonstrated that the $n =-1$ spatial harmonic can be excited efficiently from an SIW LWA and enables broadside radiation. However, it was found in our initial design that when the beam scans through the broadside, the cross-polarization level increases significantly compared to the beam close to the backfire direction. A technique is developed to reduce the cross-polarization level. As a result, a new antenna configuration is created. The antenna design has been realized and measured to validate the concept. The measured beam scanning range of the prototype is from −74° to +45° (119° of beam scanning) when the frequency sweeps from 7.625 to 11 GHz, and the measured cross-polarization level is 20.8 dB low at the main beam direction for the broadside beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite recent advances in the treatments of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the prognosis of HCC patients remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic performance of pretreatment albumin to C-reactive protein ratio (ACR) in patients with HCC.Methods: This study included 409 initially diagnosed HCC patients retrospectively. The optimal cut-off points for distinguishing high and low ACR value was determined by the X-tile software. The chi-squared test was used for comparing the baseline clinicopathologic parameters in different groups and subgroups. The Cox regression with log-rank tests was used to analyze OS and DFS, and Kaplan-Meier curves was used to estimate the prognosis of HCC patients.Results: Patients with lower ACR were significantly correlated with advanced clinical parameters, using a cut-off points of 5.4 (high ACR, n = 236 vs. low ACR, n = 173). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that ACR was associated with OS (HR = 0.544, 95% CI: 0.385-0.769, p = 0.001), with DFS (HR = 0.550, 95% CI: 0.392-0.772, p = 0.001). Treatment exposure (HR = 2.191; 95% CI: 1.533-3.132; p <  0.001), tumor size (HR = 1.973; 95% CI: 1.230-3.164; p = 0.005), serum AFP level (HR = 1.752; 95% CI: 1.277-2.403; p = 0.001), and TNM stage (HR = 0.470; 95% CI: 0.319-2.504; p <  0.001), were independent factors for OS in HCC patients. Treatment exposure (HR = 2.244; 95% CI: 1.590-3.166; p <  0.001), TNM stage (HR = 2.075; 95% CI: 1.436-3.000; p <  0.001), serum AFP level (HR = 1.819; 95% CI: 1.340-2.469; p = 0.001), tumor size (HR = 1.730; 95% CI: 1.113-2.689; p = 0.015), and ACR (HR = 0.550; 95% CI: 0.392-0.772; p = 0.001) were independent factors for DFS in HCC patients.Conclusions: Pretreatment ACR is a convenient and useful parameter for HCC patients predicting OS and DFS. Lower ACR was associated with advanced TNM stage, larger tumor size, and a high concentration of AFP. These results may help to design strategies to personalize management approaches among HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ag 3 PO 4 nanoparticles are often considered to be a fascinating and efficient visible photocatalyst because of its high quantum efficiency and excellent activity of O 2 generation from water oxidation. However, the photo-corroded phenomenon and stability during the photocatalytic process reduce the photocatalytic activity. To overcome these disadvantages, strategies of combining Ag 3 PO 4 with two-dimensional materials have been put forward to improve its stability and photocatalytic properties under visible-light irradiation. In this work, a novel Z-scheme Ag 3 PO 4 /graphdiyne/g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposite was constructed via a simple electrostatic and π-π stacking interaction for the first time. Significantly, such Z-scheme nanostructures show highly oxygen evolution, and 753.1 μmol g −1  h −1 of O 2 was produced with Ag 3 PO 4 /graphdiyne/g-C 3 N 4, which was 12.2 times higher than that of Ag 3 PO 4 nanoparticles. Graphdiyne with π-conjugated structure of sp- and sp 2 -hybridized carbon atoms, can not only act as conductive electron mediator bridges to collect photogenerated electrons and boost the O 2 evolution kinetics, but also used as a promising substrate for stabilizing Ag 3 PO 4 in the composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the capability of wood-feeding termites (WFTs) in degrading wood particles and on the existence of aerobic environment in the localized guts suggest that their high efficiency of cellulose utilization is not only caused by cellulase, but also by biochemical factors that pretreat lignin. We thus extend the hypothesis that for highly efficient accessibility of cellulose, there should be direct evidence of lignin modification before the hindgut. The lignin degradation/modification is facilitated by the oxygenated environment in intestinal microhabitats. To test our hypothesis, we conducted experiments using a dissolved oxygen microelectrode with a tip diameter < 10 μm to measure oxygen profiles in intestinal microhabitats of both Coptotermes formosanus (Shiraki) and Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar). Lignin modification during passage through their three gut segments was also analyzed with pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The data showed relatively high levels of oxygen in the midgut that could have promoted lignin oxidation. Consistent with the oxygen measurements, lignin modifications were also detected. In support of previously proposed hypotheses, these results demonstrate that lignin disruption, which pretreats wood for cellulose utilization, is initiated in the foregut, and continues in the midgut in both termites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]