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Since the global outbreak of COVID-19, the virus has continuously mutated and can survive in the air for long periods of time. This paper establishes and analyzes a model of COVID-19 with self-protection and quarantine measures affected by viruses in the environment to investigate the influence of viruses in the environment on the spread of the outbreak, as well as to develop a rational prevention and control measure to control the spread of the outbreak. The basic reproduction number was calculated and Lyapunov functions were constructed to discuss the stability of the model equilibrium points. The disease-free equilibrium point was proven to be globally asymptotically stable when $ R_0 < 1 $, and the endemic equilibrium point was globally asymptotically stable when $ R_0 > 1 $. The model was fitted using data from COVID-19 cases in Chongqing between November 1 to November 25, 2022. Based on the numerical analysis, the following conclusion was obtained: clearing the virus in the environment and strengthening the isolation measures for infected people can control the epidemic to a certain extent, but enhancing the self-protection of individuals can be more effective in reducing the risk of being infected and controlling the transmission of the epidemic, which is more conducive to the practical application.

Inspired by the cyber-physical systems (CPS) of numerical methods for stochastic differential equations, we present a CPS model of sampled-data control systems (typically a synonym for computer control systems), which regards the intersection of the physical and the cyber (the key feature of CPS). As a theoretic foundation, we develop by the Lyapunov method a stability theory for a general class of stochastic impulsive differential equations (SiDE) which is formulated as a canonical form for CPS that may work in feedback loops and thus include those of sampled-data control systems. Applying the fundamental theory, we study stability of the CPS, which implies that of the sampled-data control system. By our CPS approach, we not only obtain stability criteria for the CPS of sampled-data control systems but also reveal the equivalence and intrinsic relationship between the two main approaches (viz. controller emulation and discrete-time approximation) in the literature. As the applications of our CPS theory, we propose a control design method for feedback stabilization of the CPS of sampled-data stochastic systems. Illustrative examples are conducted to verify that our method significantly improves the existing results. In this paper, we initiate the study of a systems science of design for CPS. This provokes many open and interesting problems.

Abstract Background Digital knowledge sharing (DKS) communities have emerged as a promising approach to support learning and innovation in online higher education. These communities facilitate the exchange of knowledge, resources, and ideas among educators, students, and experts, creating opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and lifelong learning. However, the impact and role of DKS communities in online education are not well understood, and further research is needed to explore their potential benefits and challenges. Purpose This multi-objective qualitative study aims to investigate the impact and role of DKS communities in online higher education, identifying the factors that promote student success and the implications for the development of online education. The study collected data from 20 informants who have experienced teaching online during and after the pandemic. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The informants were selected through theoretical sampling. Methodology To explore the impact and role of DKS communities in online higher education, this study employed a multi-objective qualitative research method. Data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted with 20 informants who possessed experience in teaching online during and after the pandemic. The informants were selected through theoretical sampling to ensure diverse perspectives and insights. The collected data were subsequently analyzed using thematic analysis, allowing for the identification of key themes and patterns. Findings The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the impact and role of DKS communities in online higher education. These insights encompass various aspects, including the benefits and challenges of DKS in online education, the factors that contribute to student success, and the implications for the ongoing development and innovation of online education. Conclusions In conclusion, this multi-objective qualitative study sheds light on the significance of DKS communities in online higher education. It underscores their potential to enhance collaboration, innovation, and lifelong learning. The findings also emphasize the importance of addressing challenges and fostering an inclusive and supportive online learning environment. These insights inform best practices and contribute to the continuous development and innovation of online education, particularly in the post-pandemic educational landscape.

Aiming to solve the problem of thermal decay of resin-based friction materials at high temperatures, rare-earth-lanthanum-oxide-/cerium-oxide-reinforced resin-based friction plates were prepared using a hot-pressing molding process. The effect of lanthanum/cerium oxide with different contents on the mechanical and tribological properties of the resin-based friction of materials was studied, and its mechanism was explored. The result shows that lanthanum/cerium oxide improves the mechanical and tribological properties of materials so that the coefficient of friction of the specimen is more stable on adding lanthanum/cerium oxide at 5% and 1%. Lanthanum/cerium oxide improves antidegradation properties of resin-based material and reduces the high-temperature wear rate by enhancing the interfacial effect so that the wear form of the specimen changes from predominantly adhesive wear to predominantly abrasive wear.

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to identify the related risk factors and potential predictors of SARS-CoV-2 RNA negative conversion by describing the dynamics of viral shedding in infected children admitted to two hospitals from Shanghai during the Omicron variant outbreak. Methods This retrospective cohort included laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection from Shanghai between March 28 and May 31, 2022. Clinical characteristics, personal vaccination, and household vaccination rates were collected through electronic health records and telephone interviews. Results A total of 603 paediatric patients confirmed to have COVID-19 were included in this study. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to filter independent factors for the duration to viral RNA negative conversion. Data on the redetection of SARS-CoV-2 in the patients after they showed negative results on the RT‒PCR test (intermittent negative status) were also analysed. The median duration of virus shedding was 12 (interquartile range, IQR: 10–14) days. The severity of clinical outcome, personal vaccination-2doses, household vaccination rates, and abnormal defecation were factors indecently affecting negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, suggesting that patients who had abnormal defecation or with more severe conditions would have delayed virological clearance, while patients who previously had 2 doses of vaccination or had higher household vaccination rates would have accelerated virological clearance. Loss of appetite (odds ratio (OR): 5.343; 95% CI: 3.307–8.632) and abnormal defecation (OR: 2.840; 95% CI: 1.736–4.645) were significantly associated with intermittent negative status. Conclusion These findings could provide clues for the early identification of paediatric patients with prolonged viral shedding and could enrich the evidence for the development of prevention and control strategies, especially vaccination policies for children and adolescents.

This paper is concerned with a class of nonhomogeneous generalized Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equations $ \bigg\{ \begin{array}{rl} & u_t + (|u|^{p-2}u)_x + u_{xxx} +h_x(x-\tau t, y) +\beta \nabla_y v = 0, \\ & v_x = \nabla_y u.\end{array} $ By proving a local Palais-Smale condition, we manage to prove the existence of solitary waves with the help of a variational characterization on the smallest positive constant of an anisotropic Sobolev inequality (Huang and Rocha, J. Inequal. Appl., 2018,163). The novelty is to give an explicit estimate on the sufficient condition of $ h $ to get the existence of solitary waves.

This paper presents the cyber-physical system (CPS) of a numerical method (the widely-used Euler-Maruyama method) and establishes a foundational theory of the CPSs of numerical methods for stochastic differential equations (SDEs), which transforms the way we understand the relationship between the numerical method and the underlying SDE. The CPS is a seamless integration of the SDE and the numerical method, unlike in the literature where they are treated as separate systems linked by inequalities. We formulate a new and general class of stochastic impulsive differential equations (SiDEs) that can serve as a canonic form of the CPSs and establish a Lyapunov stability theory as a theoretic foundation for our class of SiDEs. By the CPS approach, we show the equivalence and intrinsic relationship between the stability of the SDE and the stability of the numerical method. As application of our proposed results, we develop the CPS theory for linear systems and present the CPS Lyapunov inequality that is the necessary and sufficient condition for mean-square stability of the CPS of the Euler-Maruyama method for linear SDEs. Our proposed CPS theory initiates the study of systems numerics and provokes many open and interesting problems for future work.

Background/purpose: Graft bone maturation and remodeling in the maxillary sinus require adequate angiogenesis and osteoprogenitor cells migration from the surrounding bony walls and Schneiderian membrane. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of anatomical factors related to maxillary sinus on the outcomes of transcrestal sinus floor elevation using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and methods: Forty-five patients (63 elevated sites) were included in this study. CBCT were obtained preoperatively, immediately and 6 months after surgery. The anatomical features of residual bone height, maxillary sinus width, maxillary sinus angle and Schneiderian membrane thickness were measured on preoperative CBCT. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were conducted to evaluate the influence of anatomical factors on outcome parameters, including sinus lift height, graft bone resorption and marginal bone loss. Results: The results showed that there was a positive correlation between sinus width and graft bone resorption. A significantly positive correlation between sinus angle and graft bone resorption was also found. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the anatomical factors of maxillary sinus (sinus width and sinus angle) have influence on the linear change of bone grafts after transcrestal sinus floor elevation.

The ultrasonic-vibration-assisted pressing process can improve the fluidity and the uneven distribution of density and particle size of WC-Co powder. However, the microscopic mechanism of ultrasonic vibration on the powder remains unclear. In this paper, WC particles with diameter 5 μm and Co particles with diameter 1.2 μm were simulated by three-dimensional spherical models with the aid of the Python secondary development. At the same time, the forming process of the powder at the mesoscale is simulated by virtue of the finite element analysis software ABAQUS. In the simulation process, the vibration amplitude was set to 1, 2, and 3 μm. Their influence on the fluidity, the filling density, and the stress distribution of WC-Co powder when the ultrasonic vibration was applied to the conventional pressing process was investigated. The simulation results show that the ultrasonic vibration amplitude has a great influence on the density of the compact. With an increase in the ultrasonic amplitude, the compact density also increases gradually, and the residual stress in the billet decreases after the compaction. From the experimental results, the size distribution of the billet is more uniform, the elastic after-effect is reduced, the dimensional instability is improved, and the density curves obtained by experimentation and simulation are within a reasonable error range.

Muddy coast due to natural and human-induced factors can be variable over a wide range of different spatiotemporal scales. Our limited capability to understand and especially predict this variability can lead to misinterpretation of muddy coastal change information, which hampers informed decision-making and subsequent design and implementation of engineering interventions. Therefore, the research on the evolution of the historical coastline is particularly important. In this study, annual mean coastlines and causes for the variability and possible evolutions are analyzed in a manner that avoids these effects by averaging the instantaneous coastline positions registered during the same year. A set of coastlines is obtained from Landsat MSS/TM/OLI series of remote sensing images taken between 1985 and 2020 in the Google Earth Engine at Jiangsu muddy coast of China Yellow Sea. The coastline is extracted based on the water body index and the Otsu method, and is classified by fractal dimension, annual rate of change, area calculation, center of gravity shift, and artificial index to calculate the temporal and spatial changes in the coastline. The results showed that most of the coastline advanced seaward due to rapid siltation and coastal development in the past 35 years with only a small portion receding landward. The entire coast experienced segmental changes and different evolutionary characteristics and the coastline shifted from rapid erosion to siltation. The silted banks were mainly distributed in the middle section of the coastline in the radial sandbank. The annual change rate in the coast section was 82.21 m/a and the average annual area increased by 18.07 km2. The artificial coastline increased substantially, while the natural coastline gradually decreased due to rapid erosion. From 1985 to 2020, the proportion of artificial coastline in Jiangsu rose from 14% to 77%. The coastline became more curved and the center of gravity of the coastline moved 5.13 km to the northwest by 61°. Before 2000, the driving force affecting the coastline variability was mainly rapid siltation, while the impact of rapid erosion and human activities gradually increased after 2000 with the natural coastline being continuously cut and straightened. Overall, Jiangsu’s muddy coast was the site with the highest anthropogenic pressure and highest vulnerability. However, it is difficult to generalize the results under other conditions, especially on decadal time scales. Scientific and engineering improvements still require more quantitative insight into the physical mechanisms behind the natural and forced shore behavior responsible for the variability to better explain the change process of the coastline and provide a basis for coastal management and sustainable development.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the main reasons for tumor chemotherapy failure. Podophyllotoxin (PPT) has been reported that can suppress MDR cancer cell growth; however, effective delivery of PPT to MDR cancer cells is challenged by cascaded bio-barriers. To effectively deliver PPT to MDR cancer cells, a PPT polymeric prodrug micelle (PCDMA) with the charge-conversion capability and self-acceleration drug release function are fabricated, which is composed of a pH and reactive oxygen species (ROS) sequentially responsive PPT-polymeric prodrug and an ROS generation agent, cucurbitacin B (CuB). After reach to tumor tissue, the surface charge of PCDMA could rapidly reverse to positive in the tumor extracellular environment to promote cellular uptake. Subsequently, the PCDMA could be degraded to release PPT and CuB in response to an intracellular high ROS condition. The released CuB is competent for generating ROS, which in turn accelerates the release of PPT and CuB. Eventually, the released PPT could kill MDR cancer cells. The in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that PCDMA was effectively internalized by cancer cells and produces massive ROS intracellular, rapid release drug, and effectively overcame MDR compared with the control cells, due to the tumor-specific weakly acidic and ROS-rich environment. Our results suggest that the pH/ROS dual-responsive PCDMA micelles with surface charge-reversal and self-amplifying ROS-response drug release provide an excellent platform for potential MDR cancer treatment.

Abstract We study the optimal harvesting policy for fishery in the marine protected and unreserved areas. In the literature, it is generally assumed that the fish population follows a concrete growth law. In contrast, we consider an abstract model with migration from the reserved area to the unreserved one. Then we examine and analyze the existence and stability of a nontrivial equilibrium point of the model. We also discuss the bionomic equilibrium. After that, we use the Pontryagin maximum principle to obtain the optimal harvest policy, where, instead of the well-known Hamiltonian function, we use the current Hamiltonian function to ease the calculation. Finally, we give some numerical examples to further illustrate our statements, where we also find that in practice the impreciseness of the parameters can influence the existence of the system positive equilibrium.

Projective non-negative matrix factorization (PNMF) as a variant of NMF has received considerable attention. However, the existing PNMF methods can be further improved from two aspects. On the one hand, the square loss function that is intended to measure the reconstruction error is sensitive to noise. On the other hand, it is non-trivial to estimate the intrinsic manifold of the feature space in a principal manner. So current paper is an attempt that has proposed a new method named as robust ensemble manifold projective non-negative matrix factorization (REPNMF) for image representation. Specifically, REPNMF not only assesses the influence of noise by imposing a spare noise matrix for image reconstruction, but it also assumes that the intrinsic manifold exists in a convex hull of certain pre-given manifold candidates. We aim to remove noise from the data and find the optimized combination of candidate manifolds to approximate the intrinsic manifold simultaneously. We develop iterative multiplicative updating rules for the optimization of REPNMF along with its convergence proof. The experimental results on four image datasets verify that REPNMF is superior as compare to other related state-of-the-art methods.

We propose a novel optical-frequency-comb (OFC) generation scheme based on single-tone modulation and the four-wave mixing (FWM) effect in one single semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) modulated by a radio frequency (RF) current. A comprehensive broad-band dynamic model, which considers single-tone modulation and the FWM effect, is presented. The simulated results show that, although only one single continuous-wave light is input into the SOA, an OFC with a large number of frequency components can be achieved as a result of single-tone modulation and the FWM effect in the SOA. The number of comb lines and the spectral bandwidth of the OFC increase by raising the amplitude of the RF modulation current. Increasing the input light power can increase the average optical power of the OFC. The frequency interval is tunable within a certain range by tuning the frequency of the RF modulation current injected into the SOA.

SiC ceramics have excellent comprehensive properties and are typical hard and brittle materials that are difficult to process and are widely used in many fields. Laser polishing technology has developed into a new surface processing technology, and femtosecond laser polishing has become an important method for the precision machining of hard and brittle materials. In this paper, SiC ceramics were ablated and polished by infrared femtosecond laser, the laser ablation threshold of SiC ceramics was calculated and the influence of pulse energy and defocus amount on the surface morphology, surface roughness, polishing depth and oxidation degree of femtosecond laser polishing of SiC ceramics were investigated. The results show that when the laser repetition frequency f = 175 kHz, wavelength λ = 1064 nm and ablation time t = 9 s, the laser ablation threshold of SiC ceramics is 0.355 J/cm2. With the increase in pulse energy, the surface roughness first decreased and then increased, and the polishing depth showed an overall upward trend. The change of defocus amount will lead to the change of the laser spot diameter. With the increase of the defocus amount, the laser spot irradiated on the workpiece surface becomes larger, and the laser energy density decreases, which results in the decrease of the laser ablation ability and polishing depth and the increase of the polished surface roughness. Periodic nano-ripple structures appeared on the laser-induced surface. Through Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) elemental analysis, it was found that there was an oxidation phenomenon in SiC ceramics polished by femtosecond laser in an air environment, and the change of pulse energy and defocus amount had insignificant effects on the degree of oxidation.

This article concerns the existence of ground state and bound states, and the study of their bifurcation properties for the Schrodinger-Poisson system $$ -\Delta u +u + \phi u = |u|^4u +\mu h(x)u, \quad -\Delta \phi = u^2 \quad\text{in }\mathbb{R}^3. $$ Under suitable assumptions on the coefficient h(x), we prove that the ground state must bifurcate from zero, and that another bound state bifurcates from a solution, when $\mu=\mu_1$ is the first eigenvalue of $-\Delta u +u = \mu h(x)u$ in $H^1(\mathbb{R}^3)$.

Abstract In this paper, we study the smallest constant α in the anisotropic Sobolev inequality of the form ∥u∥pp≤α∥u∥22(2N−1)+(3−2N)p2∥ux∥2N(p−2)2∏k=1N−1∥Dx−1∂yku∥2p−22 $$\Vert u \Vert _{p}^{p} \leq \alpha \Vert u \Vert _{2}^{\frac{2(2N-1)+(3-2N)p}{2}} \Vert u_{x} \Vert _{2}^{\frac {N(p-2)}{2}} \prod_{k=1}^{N-1} \bigl\Vert D_{x}^{-1}\partial_{y_{k}}u \bigr\Vert _{2}^{\frac{p-2}{2}} $$ and the smallest constant β in the inequality ∥u∥p∗p∗≤β∥ux∥22N2N−3∏k=1N−1∥Dx−1∂yku∥222N−3, $$\Vert u \Vert _{p_{*}}^{p_{*}} \leq\beta \Vert u_{x} \Vert _{2}^{\frac{2N}{2N-3}} \prod _{k=1}^{N-1} \bigl\Vert D_{x}^{-1} \partial_{y_{k}}u \bigr\Vert _{2}^{\frac{2}{2N-3}}, $$ where V:=(x,y1,…,yN−1)∈RN $V := (x, y_{1}, \ldots, y_{N-1})\in\mathbb{R}^{N}$ with N≥3 $N\geq 3$ and 2

Vegetation greenness dynamics in arid and semi-arid regions are sensitive to climate change, which is an important phenomenon in global climate change research. However, the driving mechanism, particularly for the longitudinal and latitudinal changes in vegetation greenness related to climate change, has been less studied and remains poorly understood in arid and semi-arid areas. In this study, we investigated changes in vegetation greenness and the vegetation greenness line (the mean growing season normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) = 0.1 contour line) and its response to climate change based on AVHRR-GIMMS NDVI3g and the fifth and latest global climate reanalysis dataset from 1982 to 2015 in the arid and semi-arid transition zone of the Mongolian Plateau (ASTZMP). The results showed that the mean growing season NDVI increased from the central west to east, northeast, and southeast in ASTZMP. The vegetation greenness line migrated to the desert during 1982–1994, to the grassland during 1994–2005, and then to the desert during 2005–2015. Vegetation greenness was positively correlated with precipitation and negatively correlated with temperature. The latitudinal variation of the vegetation greenness line was mainly affected by the combination of precipitation and temperature, while the longitudinal variation was mainly affected by precipitation. In summary, precipitation was a key climatic factor driving rapid changes in vegetation greenness during the growing season of the transition zone. These results can provide meaningful information for research on vegetation coverage changes in arid and semi-arid regions.

Asymmetric optical transmission plays a key role in many optical systems. In this work, we propose and numerically demonstrate a dielectric–metal metasurface that can achieve high-performance asymmetric transmission for linearly polarized light in the near-infrared region. Most notably, it supports a forward transmittance peak (with a transmittance of 0.70) and a backward transmittance dip (with a transmittance of 0.07) at the same wavelength of 922 nm, which significantly enhances operation bandwidth and the contrast ratio between forward and backward transmittances. Mechanism analyses reveal that the forward transmittance peak is caused by the unidirectional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons and the first Kerker condition, whereas the backward transmittance dip is due to reflection from the metal film and a strong toroidal dipole response. Our work provides an alternative and simple way to obtain high-performance asymmetric transmission devices.

The accuracy of implant placement with a fully guided digital template can be influenced by many factors, such as arch difference, alveolar bone density, timing of implant placement and open flap. The purpose of this article was to evaluate the factors presumptively affecting the accuracy of implant placement assisted by the fully guided template in the anterior zone. In 40 patients with missing anterior teeth, a total of 52 implants were placed with tooth-borne, fully guided templates after CBCT evaluation, in West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University. After overlapping the pre-and post-operative DICOM data, measurements were taken in the dental implant planning software (Nobel Clinician®) to calculate linear and angular deviations between virtual placement plan and actual implant placement. Grouping was categorized according to three factors that possibly have an influence on accuracy: arch type (maxilla/mandible), timing of implant placement (immediate/delayed), surgical technique (open flap/flapless). The data was analyzed with independent sample t-test (p < 0.05). The results showed that the apical, coronal, depth and angular mean deviations of implant positions in anterior zone were 1.13 ± 0.39 mm, 0.86 ± 0.33 mm, 0.41 ± 0.66 mm, 3.32 ± 1.65° with the fully guided templates. The accuracy at apex level, coronal level and the angulation were similar between the maxilla and mandible, and the magnitude of all four deviations between immediate and delayed implantation, open flap and flapless technique were small. No statistically significant difference was observed (p > 0.05). Whereas there was significant difference in depth deviation between maxilla and mandible (p < 0.05). Conclusively, the implant site, alveolar bone density, timing of implant placement and surgical techniques merely compromise the implant placement accuracy under the assistance of a fully guided template.

Background: The type 2 component of the oral poliovirus vaccine is targeted for global withdrawal through a switch from the trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV) to a bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV). The switch is intended to prevent paralytic polio caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2. We aimed to assess the immunogenicity and safety profile of 6 vaccination schedules with different sequential doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), tOPV, or bOPV. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in China in 2015. Healthy newborn babies randomly received one of the following 6 vaccination schedules: cIPV-bOPV-bOPV(I-B-B), cIPV-tOPV-tOPV(I-T-T), cIPV-cIPV-bOPV(I-I-B), cIPV-cIPV-tOPV(I-I-T), cIPV-cIPV-cIPV(I-I-I), or tOPV-tOPV-tOPV(T-T-T). Doses were administered sequentially at 4–6 week intervals after collecting baseline blood samples. Patients were proactively followed up for observation of adverse events after the first dose and 30 days after all doses. The primary study objective was to investigate the immunogenicity and safety profile of different vaccine schedules, evaluated by seroconversion, seroprotection and antibody titer against poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3 in the per-protocol population. Results: Of 600 newborn babies enrolled, 504 (84.0%) were included in the per-protocol population. For type 1 poliovirus, the differences in the seroconversion were 1.17% (95% CI = −2.74%, 5.08%) between I-B-B and I-T-T and 0.00% (95% CI: −6.99%, 6.99%) between I-I-B and I-I-T; for type 3 poliovirus, differences in the seroconversion were 3.49% (95% CI: −1.50%, 8.48%) between I-B-B and I-T-T and −2.32% (95% CI: −5.51%, 0.86%) between I-I-B and I-I-T. The non-inferiority conclusion was achieved in both poliovirus type 1 and 3 with the margin of −10%. Of 24 serious adverse events reported, no one was vaccine-related. Conclusions: The vaccination schedules with bOPV followed by one or 2 doses of IPV were recommended to substitute for vaccinations involving tOPV without compromising the immunogenicity and safety in the Chinese population. The findings will be essential for policy formulation by national and global authorities to facilitate polio elimination.

The friend leukemia integration 1 (Fli-1) gene is involved in the expression control of key genes in multiple pathogenic/physiological processes, including cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis; this implies that Fli-1 is a strong candidate for drug development. In our previous study, a 3′,5′-diprenylated chalcone, (E)-1-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-3,5-diprenyl) phenyl-3-(3-pyridinyl)-propene-1-one (C10), was identified as a novel anti-prostate cancer (PCa) agent. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer effects of C10 on the growth, metastasis, and invasion of PC3 cells in vitro. Our results show that C10 exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on proliferation and metastasis of PC3 cells via several cellular and flow cytometric analyses. Further mechanism studies revealed that C10 likely serves as an Fli-1 agonist for regulating the expression of Fli-1 target genes including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (P110), murine double minute2 (MDM2), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Src homology-2 domain-containing inositol 5-phosphatase 1 (SHIP-1), and globin transcription factor-1 (Gata-1) as well as the phosphorylation of extracellular-regulated protein kinases 1 (ERK1). Further, we confirmed that C10 can regulate the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor 1 (VEGF-1), transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2), intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), p53, and matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) genes associated with tumor apoptosis, migration, and invasion. Thus, C10 exhibits stronger anticancer activity with novel molecular targets and regulatory molecular mechanisms, indicating its great potency for development as a novel targeted anticancer drug.

Switchable metasurfaces with fast responses and high efficiency are highly desirable in various applications. In this paper, we propose and analyze a novel electro-optical switch based on continuous metasurface embedded in Si substrate. The simulative results indicate that the embedded and continuous metasurface structure is able to increase the interaction volume between the metal antennas and the surrounding substrate, hence enhances the tuning effect when changing the refractive index of Si by an injection current, resulting in fully switching between anomalous and normal reflections, and achieving a high extinction ratio even under a smaller refractive index variation.

Osteocalcin (OCN) was potentially associated with inflammatory factors, so we explored the metabolic role in this association in general population. Our findings suggest that OCN was positively associated with IgG while inversely associated with C3, both of which were probably mediated by obesity. Moreover, serum OCN was inversely associated with hsCRP in men with impaired fasting glucose, hyperglycemia, or metabolic syndrome, while its association with IgE was significantly observed in men with a normal metabolic profile.

Only a small proportion of genetic variation in serum ferritin has been explained by variant genetic studies, and genome-wide association study (GWAS) for serum ferritin has not been investigated widely in Chinese population. We aimed at exploring the novel genetic susceptibility to serum ferritin, and performed this two stage GWAS in a healthy Chinese population of 3,495 men aged 20-69 y, including 1,999 unrelated subjects in the first stage and 1,496 independent individuals in the second stage. Serum ferritin was measured with electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, and DNA samples were collected for genotyping. A total of 1,940,243 SNPs were tested by using multivariate linear regression analysis. After adjusting for population stratification, age and BMI, the rs5742933 located in the 5'UTR region of PMS1 gene on chromosome 2 was the most significantly associated with ferritin concentrations (P-combined = 2.329×10(-10)) (β = -0.11, 95% CI: -0.14, -0.07). Moreover, this marker was about 200 kb away from the candidate gene SLC40A1 which is responsible for iron export. PMS1 gene was the novel genetic susceptibility to serum ferritin in Chinese males and its relation to SLC40A1 needs further study.

The in vivo kinetics of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in patients with advanced and convalescent tuberculosis (TB) is not well characterized. In order to target Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) peptides- and HLA-DR-holding monocytes and macrophages, 2 MTB peptide-specific CD4(+) T-cell receptor (TCR) tetramers eu and hu were successfully constructed. Peripheral blood (PBL) samples from inpatients with advanced pulmonary TB (PTB) were analyzed using flow cytometry, and the percentages of tetramer-bound CD14(+) monocytes ranged from 0.26-1.44% and 0.21-0.95%, respectively; significantly higher than those measured in PBL samples obtained from non-TB patients, healthy donors, and umbilical cords. These tetramers were also able to specifically detect macrophages in situ via immunofluorescent staining. The results of the continuous time-point tracking of the tetramer-positive rates in PBL samples from active PTB outpatients undergoing treatment show that the median percentages were at first low before treatment, increased to their highest levels during the first month, and then began to decrease during the second month until finally reaching and maintaining a relatively low level after 3-6 months. These results suggest that there is a relatively low level of MTB-specific monocytes in advanced and untreated patients. Further experiments show that MTB induces apoptosis in CD14(+) cells, and the percentage of apoptotic monocytes dramatically decreases after treatment. Therefore, the relatively low level of MTB-specific monocytes is probably related to the apoptosis or necrosis of APCs due to live bacteria and their growth. The bactericidal effects of anti-TB drugs, as well as other unknown factors, would induce a peak value during the first month of treatment, and a relatively low level would be subsequently reached and maintained until all of the involved factors reached equilibrium. These tetramers have diagnostic potential and can provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of antigen presentation and its relationship with TB infection and latent TB infection.