ObjectivesThough menstrual and reproductive factors have been associated with the risk of breast cancer in many populations, very few studies have been conducted among Vietnamese women. This study aimed to assess the association between menstrual and reproductive factors and the risk of breast cancer in Vietnamese women.MethodsA retrospective case-control study of 490 breast cancer cases and 468 controls was conducted in Northern Vietnam. Unconditional logistic regression models adjusting for confounders were used to estimate odds...

Abstract Background Solid pulmonary nodules are different from subsolid nodules and the diagnosis is much more challenging. We intended to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of radiomics and deep learning technologies for solid pulmonary nodules. Methods Retrospectively enroll patients with pathologically-confirmed solid pulmonary nodules and collect clinical data. Obtain pre-treatment high-resolution thoracic CT and manually delineate the nodule in 3D. Then, all patients were randomly divided into training and testing sets at a ratio...

Abstract Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) appeared more frequently in children and caused a great threat to global public health. It is urgent to investigate the carbapenem resistance and virulence of CRAB for clinicians to choose appropriate antibiotics. A retrospective study of 77 nonduplicated CRAB isolates was conducted. The carbapenem resistance and virulence genes were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis. In the present study, A. baumannii mainly came from the intensive care...

ObjectiveSmall cell carcinoma of the cervix (SCCC) is rare but extremely aggressive and resistant to current therapies. We herein evaluate the efficacy of bevacizumab, apatinib, and anlotinib in recurrent/metastatic SCCC patients in a real-world setting.MethodsRecurrent/metastatic SCCC patients were recruited between January 2013 and July 2020. Baseline characteristics were extracted from medical records, and patients were divided into an anti-angiogenic group and non-anti-angiogenic group. The efficacy of treatments was determined using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid...

Plasmonic nanocavities have emerged as a promising platform for next-generation spectroscopy, sensing and photonic quantum information processing technologies, benefiting from a unique confluence of nanoscale compactness and integrability, ultrafast functionality and room-temperature viability. Harnessing their unprecedented optical field confinement and enhancement properties for such diverse application domains, however, demands continued innovation in cavity design and robust strategies for engineering their plasmonic mode characteristics, with the aim of optimizing spatial and spectral matching conditions for strong...

Plasmonic nanocavities have emerged as a promising platform for next-generation spectroscopy, sensing and photonic quantum information processing technologies, benefiting from a unique confluence of nanoscale compactness and integrability, ultrafast functionality and room-temperature viability. Harnessing their unprecedented optical field confinement and enhancement properties for such diverse application domains, however, demands continued innovation in cavity design and robust strategies for engineering their plasmonic mode characteristics, with the aim of optimizing spatial and spectral matching conditions for strong...

ObjectivesKaempferol (KMF), has beneficial effects against hepatic lipid accumulation. In this study, we aimed to investigate molecular mechanism underlying the protective effect of KMF on lipid accumulation. MethodsHepG2 cells were treated with different concentrations of KMF and 0.5 mM palmitate (PA) for 24 h. The mRNA and protein levels of genes involved in lipid metabolism were evaluated using real-time PCR and western blot. The expression of Nrf2 was silenced using siRNA. ResultsData indicated that KMF...

In this paper, a ring-core trench-assisted few-mode bismuth-doped fiber amplifier (FM-BDFA) is simulated on the basis of the threeenergy level. The fiber is designed to support four modes of signal group transmission for practical considerations, including LP01, LP11, LP21, and LP31. The results suggest that (1) it is possible to obtain gain equalization of the three signal groups by using the LP21 mode pump independently, where the maximum difference in modal gain (MAX DMG) is...

In this paper, a ring-core trench-assisted few-mode bismuth-doped fiber amplifier (FM-BDFA) is simulated on the basis of the threeenergy level. The fiber is designed to support four modes of signal group transmission for practical considerations, including LP01, LP11, LP21, and LP31. The results suggest that (1) it is possible to obtain gain equalization of the three signal groups by using the LP21 mode pump independently, where the maximum difference in modal gain (MAX DMG) is...

Objectives: The complexity and specificity of lung tumor motion render it necessary to determine the external and internal correlation individually before applying indirect tumor tracking. However, the correlation cannot be determined from patient respiratory and tumor clinical characteristics before treatment. The purpose of this study is to present a machine learning model for an external/internal correlation prediction that is based on computed tomography (CT) radiomic features. Methods: 4-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) images of 67 patients...

Bright high harmonics generation (HHG) in CMOS-compatible nano-films can provide new opportunities for integrated coherent ultra-violet sources and attosecond photonic devices. Up to now, most HHG studies have been limited to single crystals. Polycrystalline materials, which consist of many grains separated by grain boundaries and normally have random crystallographic orientations, have rarely been explored for HHG. Understanding and predicting the HHG properties in polycrystalline nano-films are important owing to its merits of low cost and...

Bright high harmonics generation (HHG) in CMOS-compatible nano-films can provide new opportunities for integrated coherent ultra-violet sources and attosecond photonic devices. Up to now, most HHG studies have been limited to single crystals. Polycrystalline materials, which consist of many grains separated by grain boundaries and normally have random crystallographic orientations, have rarely been explored for HHG. Understanding and predicting the HHG properties in polycrystalline nano-films are important owing to its merits of low cost and...

Abstract Background The repair of cranio-maxillofacial bone defects remains a formidable clinical challenge. The Ets variant 2 (ETV2) transcription factor, which belongs to the E26 transformation-specific (ETS) family, has been reported to play a key role in neovascularization. However, the role of ETV2 in the osteogenesis of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) remains unexplored. Methods Transgenic overexpression of ETV2 was achieved using a lentiviral vector, based on a Dox-inducible system. The effects of Dox-induced...

Abstract Background The repair of cranio-maxillofacial bone defects remains a formidable clinical challenge. The Ets variant 2 (ETV2) transcription factor, which belongs to the E26 transformation-specific (ETS) family, has been reported to play a key role in neovascularization. However, the role of ETV2 in the osteogenesis of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) remains unexplored. Methods Transgenic overexpression of ETV2 was achieved using a lentiviral vector, based on a Dox-inducible system. The effects of Dox-induced...

Abstract Background This study aimed to explore the relationship between communication skills, health service quality, and patient trust in primary health services. Method This study was conducted in village clinics in rural China. A simple random sampling method was used to select volunteer village clinics and patients. In total, 574 participants from 25 village clinics were selected with the help of local health officers and village doctors. The response rate was 90%. Statistical analyses (hierarchical...

Introduction: Although there have been significant advances in research and treatments over the past decades, cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, mostly due to resistance to standard therapies. Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF), a newly emerged therapeutic strategy, has been highly regarded as less invasive and almost safe to patients, is now a clinically accepted form to treat diseases including cancer. Breast and lung cancer are the most prevalent forms of human cancers,...

Abstract Background Enteral nutrition is a major pathway of nutrition for patients requiring critical care. However, it remains unclear whether intermittent or continuous feeding is the better approach, especially after nasogastric enteral nutrition via a gastric tube. Therefore, this randomized controlled clinical study was designed to observe the effects of different methods on critically ill patients. Methods Different Feeding Methods on Gastrointestinal Function of Critical patients (DFM-GFC) is a randomized clinical study that will be...

Abstract Background Enteral nutrition is a major pathway of nutrition for patients requiring critical care. However, it remains unclear whether intermittent or continuous feeding is the better approach, especially after nasogastric enteral nutrition via a gastric tube. Therefore, this randomized controlled clinical study was designed to observe the effects of different methods on critically ill patients. Methods Different Feeding Methods on Gastrointestinal Function of Critical patients (DFM-GFC) is a randomized clinical study that will be...

Geometric constraint algorithms can solve phase ambiguity for fringe projection profilometry. However, they either require multiple cameras or suffer from a small measurement depth range. To overcome these limitations, this letter proposes an algorithm combining orthogonal fringe projection and geometric constraints. A novel scheme is developed to assess the reliabilities of the potential homologous points, which works with depth segmentation to determine the final homologous points. With full consideration of lens distortions, the algorithm reconstructs...

High-power, high-brightness laser lighting promotes new requirements for light-conversion materials, such as high thermal conductivity, high saturation threshold and compact encapsulation. In this paper, we designed and fabricated a novel composite structure ceramic including a 1.0×1.0 mm2 Al₂O₃-YAG:Ce ceramic and a φ=16.0 mm transparent YAG ceramic for the transmissive configuration in laser lighting. When pumped by blue laser from 0~60 W mm2, all the samples exhibited no luminous saturation phenomenon, and the 10.0 wt.%Al₂O₃-YAG:Ce/YAG composite...

Abstract Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) in the treatment of initially unresectable hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to preliminarily explore the mechanism of rapid growth of the future liver remnant (FLR). Methods Twenty-four patients with HBV-associated HCC who underwent ALPPS in our hospital from August 2014 to January 2021 were retrospectively studied. Propensity score matching was used to...

Abstract Background Since viral metagenomic approach was applied to discover plant viruses for the first time in 2006, many plant viruses had been identified from cultivated and non-cultivated plants. These previous researches exposed that the viral communities (virome) of plants have still largely uncharacterized. Here, we investigated the virome in 161 species belonging to 38 plant orders found in a riverside ecosystem. Results We identified 245 distinct plant-associated virus genomes (88 DNA and 157 RNA...

Abstract Background Metastatic breast carcinoma is commonly considered during differential diagnosis when metastatic disease is detected in females. In addition to the tumor morphology and documented clinical history, sensitive and specific immunohistochemical (IHC) markers such as GCDFP-15, mammaglobin, and GATA3 are helpful for determining breast origin. However, these markers are reported to show lower sensitivity in certain subtypes, such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Materials and methods Using bioinformatics analyses, we identified a potential diagnostic...

Abstract Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), as important regulators, play important roles in plant growth and development. The expression and epigenetic regulation of lncRNAs remain uncharacterized generally in plant seeds, especially in the transient endosperm of the dicotyledons. Results In this study, we identified 11,840 candidate lncRNAs in 12 day-after-pollination sunflower endosperm by analyzing RNA-seq data. These lncRNAs were evenly distributed in all chromosomes and had specific features that were distinct from mRNAs including tissue-specificity...

Abstract Background The successful establishment of a species population following a single introduction of a few individuals to a non-native area has been limited. Nevertheless, the oriental fire-bellied toad (Bombina orientalis) population in Beijing is purportedly descended from a single introduction of about 200 individuals translocated from Yantai, Shandong Province, China, in 1927. Results To resolve the introduction process and to understand the genetic consequences since that introduction approximately 90 years ago, we investigated the...