Switchable Photonic Nanojet by Electro-Switching Nematic Liquid Crystals.

This paper first presents a switchable photonic nanojet (PNJ) generated by a polystyrene (PS) microsphere immersed in nematic liquid crystals (NLCs). The PNJ is switched by applying external voltage, which originates from the refractive index change in the surrounding medium caused by the field-induced realignment of liquid crystal molecules. By tuning the refractive index of NLCs larger or smaller than that of the PS microsphere, the PNJ can be switched off or on.

Dynamically Tunable Light Absorbers as Color Filters Based on Electrowetting Technology.

A device that uses the electrowetting fluid manipulation technology to realize the reversible and dynamical modulation of the local surface plasmon resonance is invented. By varying the electrowetting voltage, the distribution of fluids media surrounding the grating structure get changed accordingly, causing the modulation of the plasmonic resonance peak. The simulation results indicated that three primary colors, that are cyan, magenta and yellow (CMY) can be respectively reflected through selecting suitable structural parameters.

Sound therapy (using amplification devices and/or sound generators) for tinnitus.

Background: Tinnitus affects 10% to 15% of the adult population, with about 20% of these experiencing symptoms that negatively affect quality of life. In England alone there are an estimated ¾ million general practice consultations every year where the primary complaint is tinnitus, equating to a major burden on healthcare services. Clinical management strategies include education and advice, relaxation therapy, tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), sound enrichment using ear-level sound generators or hearing aids, and drug therapies to manage co-morbid symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety or depression.

Cognitive behavioural therapy plus standard care versus standard care for people with schizophrenia.

Background: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a psychosocial treatment that aims to re-mediate distressing emotional experiences or dysfunctional behaviour by changing the way in which a person interprets and evaluates the experience or cognates on its consequence and meaning. This approach helps to link the person's feelings and patterns of thinking which underpin distress. CBT is now recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as an add-on treatment for people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Viral Diversity and Its Relationship With Environmental Factors at the Surface and Deep Sea of Prydz Bay, Antarctica.

A viral metagenomic analysis of five surface and two bottom water (878 meters below surface, mbs, and 3,357 mbs) samples from Prydz Bay, was conducted during February-March 2015. The results demonstrated that most of the DNA viruses were dsDNA viruses (79.73-94.

Switchable Photoacoustic Imaging of Glutathione Using MnO Nanotubes for Cancer Diagnosis.

Glutathione is overexpressed in tumor cells and regulates cancer growth, metastasis, and drug resistance. Therefore, detecting glutathione levels may greatly facilitate cancer diagnosis and treatment response monitoring. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a noninvasive modality for high-sensitivity, high-resolution, deep-tissue optical imaging.

Cognitive behavioural therapy plus standard care versus standard care plus other psychosocial treatments for people with schizophrenia.

Background: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a psychosocial treatment that aims to help individuals re-evaluate their appraisals of their experiences that can affect their level of distress and problematic behaviour. CBT is now recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as an add-on treatment for people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Other psychosocial therapies that are often less expensive are also available as an add-on treatment for people with schizophrenia.

Analysis of the association between CDH2 gene polymorphism and osteoarthritis risk.

Objective: to define the cadherin 2 (CDH2) gene polymorphism in Chinese osteoarthritis and control populations and to explore the correlation between CDH2 gene polymorphism and the risk of osteoarthritis.

Method: a total of 476 patients with osteoarthritis were collected and 380 control subjects were included in the study. Clinical data such as gender, age and functional score were collected.

A systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the effectiveness of alternative listening devices to conventional hearing aids in adults with hearing loss.

Recent technological advances have led to a rapid increase in alternative listening devices to conventional hearing aids. The aim was to systematically review the existing evidence to assess the effectiveness of alternative listening devices in adults with mild and moderate hearing loss. A systematic search strategy of the scientific literature was employed, reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) checklist.

Predicting Outcomes From Radical Radiotherapy for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Existing Literature.

Radical radiotherapy (RT) is a potentially curative treatment in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is delivered in conventional 2-Gy fractions, hypofractionated and ablative stereotactic courses. No reliable, predictive biomarkers for the clinical events of local control, appearance of distant metastases and development of toxicity have been introduced in routine clinical practice. Such a test would enable the Radiotherapist to tailor the clinical management of individual patients, considering their pre-treatment characteristics, in order reduce the risk of recurrence or toxicity e.

Lycopene Triggers Nrf2-AMPK Cross Talk to Alleviate Atrazine-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Mice.

Atrazine (ATR), an environmental persistent and bioaccumulative herbicide, has been associated with environmental nephrosis. Lycopene (LYC) exhibits important properties of nephroprotection, but there are limited data on the specific underlying mechanism. The primary objective of this study was to explore the therapeutic effect of LYC on ATR-induced nephrotoxicity in mice.

Comprehensive evaluation and scenario simulation for the water resources carrying capacity in Xi'an city, China.

The quantity and quality of water resources are of great importance in maintaining urban socio-economic development. Accordingly, substantial research has been conducted on the concept of the water resources carrying capacity (WRCC). In this study, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and system dynamics (SD) models were combined to construct a multi-criteria evaluation system of the WRCC and a socio-economic/water resources SD model for Xi'an.

miR-7 Suppresses Tumor Progression by Directly Targeting MAP3K9 in Pancreatic Cancer.

Extensive research has suggested that miR-7 plays a critical role in cancer progression. However, the biological function of miR-7 in pancreatic cancer (PC) progression is poorly understood. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the function of miR-7 and its molecular mechanism in PC progression.

Genome-wide identification and differentially expression analysis of lncRNAs in tilapia.

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) play important roles in fundamental biological processes. However, knowledge about the genome-wide distribution and stress-related expression of lncRNAs in tilapia is still limited.

Results: Genome-wide identification of lncRNAs in the tilapia genome was carried out in this study using bioinformatics tools.

Fluorescent fusions of the N protein of phage Mu label DNA damage in living cells.

The N protein of phage Mu was indicated from studies in Escherichia coli to hold linear Mu chromosomes in a circular conformation by non-covalent association, and thus suggested potentially to bind DNA double-stranded ends. Because of its role in association with linear Mu DNA, we tested whether fluorescent-protein fusions to N might provide a useful tool for labeling DNA damage including double-strand break (DSB) ends in single cells. We compared N-GFP with a biochemically well documented DSB-end binding protein, the Gam protein of phage Mu, also fused to GFP.

Radiomics Nomogram Building From Multiparametric MRI to Predict Grade in Patients With Glioma: A Cohort Study.

Background: Accurate classification of gliomas is crucial for prescribing therapy and assessing the prognosis of patients.

Purpose: To develop a radiomics nomogram using multiparametric MRI for predicting glioma grading.

Study Type: Retrospective.

Nonlinear Photoacoustic Imaging by Multiphoton Upconversion and Energy Transfer.

In recent years, photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is increasingly used in biomedical research, as it allows for direct visualization of optical absorption in deep tissue. In addition to vascular and hemodynamic imaging using endogenous contrasts, PAT is also capable of imaging neural and molecular dynamics with extrinsic contrasts. While near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing contrasts are preferred for deep tissue imaging, compared to visible-light-absorbing contrasts, they are much harder to design and synthesize with good environmental stability.

The predictive value of preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on the recurrence of the local pigmented villonodular synovitis of the knee joint.

Background: To explore and evaluate the predictive value of preoperative Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on the recurrence of pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) of the knee joint treated by arthroscopic surgery combining local radiotherapy.

Methods: Sixty pathological-proven PVNS cases of the knee joint in our department from April 2006 to March 2017 were included. All of them are treated by arthroscopic synovectomy combined with adjuvant radiotherapy.

Optimizing photoacoustic image reconstruction using cross-platform parallel computation.

Three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction involves the computations of an extensive amount of data that leads to tremendous processing time. Therefore, optimization is crucially needed to improve the performance and efficiency. With the widespread use of graphics processing units (GPU), parallel computing is transforming this arduous reconstruction process for numerous imaging modalities, and photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) is not an exception.

Phototransformation of p-arsanilic acid in aqueous media containing nitrogen species.

The effects of co-existing nitrogen species in surface water on the phototransformation of organoarsenical p-arsanilic acid (p-ASA) have been investigated using a xenon lamp as a simulated solar light source. Significant enhancements of p-ASA phototransformation efficiency were observed in the presence of nitrate and nitrite, increasing with the concentration of these species and pH, whereas ammonia showed no obvious effect. The products, including inorganic arsenic species and organic derivatives, have been analyzed in order to reveal the phototransformation pathways.

Optimizing the light delivery of linear-array-based photoacoustic systems by double acoustic reflectors.

Although linear transducer arrays have been intensely used in photoacoustic imaging, their geometrical shape constrains light illumination. Today, most linear array based photoacoustic systems utilize side-illumination geometry, which consists of two line fiber bundles attached to the side of the probe. The angled light illumination increases the light travel distance in deep tissue, consequently limiting the imaging depth.

Real-World Clinical Outcomes in Elderly Chinese Patients with Multiple Myeloma: A Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND Recently, improvement in overall survival (OS) was demonstrated in elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Our aim here was to analyze treatment outcomes in elderly Chinese patients with MM in real-world practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS This retrospective study enrolled 122 newly diagnosed MM patients ages 65-84 between January 2007 and December 2015 in a single hematology department.

Comparative efficacy and tolerability of medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, adolescents, and adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: The benefits and safety of medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remain controversial, and guidelines are inconsistent on which medications are preferred across different age groups. We aimed to estimate the comparative efficacy and tolerability of oral medications for ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults.

Methods: We did a literature search for published and unpublished double-blind randomised controlled trials comparing amphetamines (including lisdexamfetamine), atomoxetine, bupropion, clonidine, guanfacine, methylphenidate, and modafinil with each other or placebo.

Changes in synaptic AMPA receptor concentration and composition in chronic temporal lobe epilepsy.

Excitotoxicity caused by excessive stimulation of glutamate receptors, resulting in pathologically increased Ca-concentrations, is a decisive factor in neurodegenerative diseases. We investigated long-term changes in synaptic contents of AMPA receptor subunits that play important roles in calcium regulation in chronic epilepsy. Such plastic changes may be either adaptive or detrimental.