Impact of baseline steroids on the efficacy of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Immunochemotherapy involving the combination of programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 inhibitors with chemotherapy has advanced the treatment of locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The use of corticosteroids as pretreatment might reduce immunotherapy efficacy.

Aim: To investigate the impact of baseline corticosteroid use on neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nIC) outcomes in locally advanced ESCC patients.

An inexpensive anaerobic chamber for the genetic manipulation of strictly anaerobic bacteria.

Strictly anaerobic bacteria are important to both human health and industrial usage. These bacteria are sensitive to oxygen, therefore, it is preferable to manipulate these microbes in an anaerobic chamber. However, commercial anaerobic chambers (CACs) are expensive, making them less accessible to scientists with a limited budget, especially to those in developing countries.

A Ferrite Synaptic Transistor with Topotactic Transformation.

Hardware implementation of artificial synaptic devices that emulate the functions of biological synapses is inspired by the biological neuromorphic system and has drawn considerable interest. Here, a three-terminal ferrite synaptic device based on a topotactic phase transition between crystalline phases is presented. The electrolyte-gating-controlled topotactic phase transformation between brownmillerite SrFeO and perovskite SrFeO is confirmed from the examination of the crystal and electronic structure.

Inner Mongolia: A Potential Portal for the Spread of Rabies to Western China.

In recent years, the number of human rabies cases in China has decreased annually. However, some western provinces with no human cases for more than 10 years have begun to report rabies cases, and all of the rabies lineages that circulated in western China were found in Inner Mongolia as well. In this study, we generated a phylogenetic tree with all the Inner Mongolia rabies strains available in GenBank and our laboratory, as well as strains from western China and representative viruses from neighboring countries, based on the N gene sequence.

Artificial Synapses Emulated by an Electrolyte-Gated Tungsten-Oxide Transistor.

Considering that the human brain uses ≈10 synapses to operate, the development of effective artificial synapses is essential to build brain-inspired computing systems. In biological synapses, the voltage-gated ion channels are very important for regulating the action-potential firing. Here, an electrolyte-gated transistor using WO with a unique tunnel structure, which can emulate the ionic modulation process of biological synapses, is proposed.

Quantitative assessment of the effect of pre-gestational diabetes and risk of adverse maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes.

Pregnancies complicated by pre-gestational diabetes (PGD) are associated with a higher rate of adverse outcomes, including an increased rage of preterm delivery, pregnancy-induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia, caesarean section, perinatal mortality, stillbirth, shoulder dystocia, macrosomia, small for gestational age, large for gestational age, low birth weight, neonatal hypoglycemia, neonatal death, low Apgar score, NICU admission, jaundice and respiratory distress. In the past two decades, numerous reports have been published regarding associations between PGD and risk of adverse outcomes. However, study results are inconsistent.

Direct evidence of correlation between the second harmonic generation anisotropy patterns and the polarization orientation of perovskite ferroelectric.

For ferroelectric materials, where the polar state breaks the inversion symmetry, second harmonic generation is a useful tool to prove their ferroelectric properties. However, the correlation between the anisotropy patterns and the polarization orientation of the ferroelectric domains has not been clarified yet. In this work, we systematically investigated this correlation in a typical perovskite oxide ferroelectric, Barium Titanate (BaTiO) crystal, by second harmonic generation and the piezoresponse force microscopy technique.

Detection of OPCML methylation, a possible epigenetic marker, from free serum circulating DNA to improve the diagnosis of early-stage ovarian epithelial cancer.

The aim of the present study was to identify the appropriate DNA sequence and design high-quality primers for methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). These primers may be used to examine and identify patients with early-stage epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). Opioid binding protein/cell adhesion molecule like (OPCML), Runt-related transcription factor 3 and tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 were selected as possible molecular markers.

Saccharomyces boulardii Administration Changes Gut Microbiota and Attenuates D-Galactosamine-Induced Liver Injury.

Growing evidence has shown that gut microbiome is a key factor involved in liver health. Therefore, gut microbiota modulation with probiotic bacteria, such as Saccharomyces boulardii, constitutes a promising therapy for hepatosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effects of S.

Toward Switchable Photovoltaic Effect via Tailoring Mobile Oxygen Vacancies in Perovskite Oxide Films.

The defect chemistry of perovskite oxides involves the cause to most of their abundant functional properties, including interface magnetism, charge transport, ionic exchange, and catalytic activity. The possibility to achieve dynamic control over oxygen anion vacancies offers a unique opportunity for the development of appealing switchable devices, which at present are commonly based on ferroelectric materials. Herein, we report the discovery of a switchable photovoltaic effect, that the sign of the open voltage and the short circuit current can be reversed by inverting the polarity of the applied field, upon electrically tailoring the distribution of oxygen vacancies in perovskite oxide films.

Evolution of structural distortion in BiFeO thin films probed by second-harmonic generation.

BiFeO thin films have drawn much attention due to its potential applications for novel magnetoelectric devices and fundamental physics in magnetoelectric coupling. However, the structural evolution of BiFeO films with thickness remains controversial. Here we use an optical second-harmonic generation technique to explore the phase-related symmetry evolution of BiFeO thin films with the variation of thickness.

Whole Genome Sequencing and Comparisons of Different Chinese Rabies Virus Lineages Including the First Complete Genome of an Arctic-like Strain in China.

Objective: To learn the rabies genome molecular characteristics and compare the difference of China rabies lineages.

Methods: The complete genomes of 12 strains from different China rabies lineages were amplified and sequenced, and all the China street strain genomes (total 43), Arctic and Arctic-like genomes were aligned using ClustalX2, the genome homologies were analyzed using MegAlign software, and the phylogenetic trees were constructed by MEGA 5.

Results: First Arctic-like rabies genome in China (CQH1202D) was reported, and we supplemented the rabies genome data of China, ensuring at least one genome was available in each China lineage.

High-performance visible blind ultraviolet photodetector based on KTaO single crystal.

We report a visible-blind ultraviolet photoconductive detector with interdigitated electrodes based on KTaO (KTO) single crystals. Both the steady spectral responses and the transient photovoltaic measurements clearly exhibit a cutoff wavelength at 344 nm (∼3.6  eV), in accordance with the bandgap of KTO.

Rabies Cases in the West of China Have Two Distinct Origins.

In China, rabies remains an ongoing threat to public health. Although control efforts have been effective in reducing the number of annual cases, the virus continues to spread into new areas. Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia in western China have, until recently, reported only a handful of events.

[Effect of Norcantharidin on Hematopoietic Function in Leucopenia Model Rat Induced by Cyclophosphamide].

Objective: To explore the effect and mechanism of norcantharidin (NCTD) on hematopoiesis function in leucopenia model rat induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX).

Methods: Leucopenia model was replicated in SD rat with cyclophosphamide(CTX) and model animal was treated with NCTD. Peripheral blood and bone marrow tissue samples were collected from the rats in each experimental group.

Application of multiplex nested methylated specific PCR in early diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Objective: To explore the application of multiplex nested methylated specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the early diagnosis of epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC).

Materials And Methods: Serum and fresh tissue samples were collected from 114 EOC patients. RUNX3, TFPI2 and OPCML served as target genes.

A new non-destructive readout by using photo-recovered surface potential contrast.

Ferroelectric random access memory is still challenging in the feature of combination of room temperature stability, non-destructive readout and high intensity storage. As a non-contact and non-destructive information readout method, surface potential has never been paid enough attention because of the unavoidable decay of the surface potential contrast between oppositely polarized domains. That is mainly due to the recombination of the surface movable charges around the domain walls.

Comparison of genotypes I and III in Japanese encephalitis virus reveals distinct differences in their genetic and host diversity.

Unlabelled: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an arthropod-borne disease associated with the majority of viral encephalitis cases in the Asia-Pacific region. The causative agent, Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), has been phylogenetically divided into five genotypes. Recent surveillance data indicate that genotype I (GI) is gradually replacing genotype III (GIII) as the dominant genotype.

Human rabies surveillance and control in China, 2005-2012.

Background: Rabies reemerged in China during the 1990s with a gradual increase in the number and geographical dispersion of cases. As a consequence, a national surveillance program was introduced in 2005 to investigate the outbreak in terms of vaccination coverage, PEP treatment, and geographical and social composition.

Methods: The surveillance program was coordinated at the national level by the Chinese Center for Disease Control (CCDC) with data collected by regional health centres and provincial CCDCs, and from other official sources.

Molecular phylodynamic analysis indicates lineage displacement occurred in Chinese rabies epidemics between 1949 to 2010.

Rabies remains a serious problem in China with three epidemics since 1949 and the country in the midst of the third epidemic. Significantly, the control of each outbreak has been followed by a rapid reemergence of the disease. In 2005, the government implemented a rabies national surveillance program that included the collection and screening of almost 8,000 samples.

High-sensitivity SrTiO3 photodetectors with paralleled multiple interdigital electrode cells.

We report high-sensitivity SrTiO(3) photoconductive detectors with multiple photoelectric cells connected in parallel. The photocurrent of the detectors increases significantly with an increase of the cell number. The photocurrent responsivity of the detector with three cells can reach 237 mA/W at 10 V bias under illumination of the 375 nm laser, and the corresponding quantum efficiency is 77% at 10 V bias.

Molecular characterization of viral G gene in emerging and re-emerging areas of rabies in China, 2007 to 2011.

In recent years (2007 to 2011), although the overall number of rabies cases in China has decreased, there is evidence of emerging or re-emerging cases in regions without previous rabies cases or with low incidence of rabies. To investigate the origin and the factors affecting the spread of rabies in China, specimens were collected from 2007 to 2011 from provinces with emerging and re-emerging cases and tested for the presence of the rabies virus. Positive specimens were combined with sequences from GenBank to perform comparisons of homology and functional sites, and to carry out phylogenetic analyses.

Evidence for a crucial role played by oxygen vacancies in LaMnO3 resistive switching memories.

LaMnO(3) (LMO) films are deposited on SrTiO(3):Nb (0.8 wt%) substrates under various oxygen pressures to obtain different concentrations of oxygen vacancies in the films. The results of X-ray diffraction verify that with a decrease of the oxygen pressure, the c-axis lattice constant of the LMO films becomes larger, owing to an increase of the oxygen vacancies.