Performance evaluation of influenza a rapid antigen test and PCR among nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples.

Objectives: Rapid antigen test (RAT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using nasopharyngeal (NP) or oropharyngeal (OP) swab specimens are the two main testing techniques used for laboratory diagnosis of influenza in clinical practice. However, performance variations have been observed not only between techniques, but also between different specimens. This study evaluated the differences in performance between specimens and testing techniques to identify the best combination in clinical practice.

Context-aware SAR image ship detection and recognition network.

With the development of deep learning, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) ship detection and recognition based on deep learning have gained widespread application and advancement. However, there are still challenging issues, manifesting in two primary facets: firstly, the imaging mechanism of SAR results in significant noise interference, making it difficult to separate background noise from ship target features in complex backgrounds such as ports and urban areas; secondly, the heterogeneous scales of ship target features result in the susceptibility of smaller targets to information loss, rendering them elusive to detection. In this article, we propose a context-aware one-stage ship detection network that exhibits heightened sensitivity to scale variations and robust resistance to noise interference.

Multifaceted roles of WRKY transcription factors in abiotic stress and flavonoid biosynthesis.

Increasing biotic and abiotic stresses are seriously impeding the growth and yield of staple crops and threatening global food security. As one of the largest classes of regulators in vascular plants, WRKY transcription factors play critical roles governing flavonoid biosynthesis during stress responses. By binding major W-box -elements (TGACCA/T) in target promoters, WRKYs modulate diverse signaling pathways.

Exploration of potential novel drug targets and biomarkers for small cell lung cancer by plasma proteome screening.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is characterized by extreme invasiveness and lethality. There have been very few developments in its diagnosis and treatment over the past decades. It is urgently needed to explore potential novel biomarkers and drug targets for SCLC.

Band Gap and Defect Engineering Enhanced Scintillation from Ce-Doped Nanoglass Containing Mixed-Type Fluoride Nanocrystals.

Much can be learned from the research and development of scintillator crystals for improving the scintillation performance of glasses. Relying on the concept of "embedding crystalline order in glass", we have demonstrated that the scintillation properties of Ce-doped nanoglass composites (nano-GCs) can be optimized via the synergistic effects of Gd-sublattice sensitization and band-gap engineering. The nano-GCs host a large volume fraction of KYGdF mixed-type fluoride nanocrystals (NCs) and still retain reasonably good transparency at Ce-emitting wavelengths.

Cooled infrared coaxial four-mirror system design with a low F-number.

A low F-number and 100% cold stop efficiency are beneficial for improving the performance of optical systems and have a wide range of applications in various thermal imaging scenarios. The cooled infrared coaxial four-mirror system can meet these two requirements, improve system integration, and reduce adjustment costs and difficulties. However, the secondary obstruction caused by the central hole of the third mirror will generate potential stray light.

Homologous recombination deficiency in triple-negative breast cancer: Multi-scale transcriptomics reveals distinct tumor microenvironments and limitations in predicting immunotherapy response.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer and has the highest proportion of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). HRD has been considered a biomarker of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), but the reality is more complicated. A comprehensive comparison of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in HRD and non-HRD TNBC samples may be helpful.

Nonstationary feature extraction based on stochastic resonance and its application in rolling bearing fault diagnosis under strong noise background.

When the load and speed of rotating machinery change, the vibration signal of rolling bearing presents an obvious nonstationary characteristic. Stochastic resonance (SR) mainly is convenient to analyze the stationary feature of vibration signals with high signal-to-noise ratio. However, it is difficult for SR to extract the nonstationary feature of rolling bearings under strong noise background.

Single-Cell Profiling Comparisons of Tumor Microenvironment between Primary Advanced Lung Adenocarcinomas and Brain Metastases and Machine Learning Algorithms in Predicting Immunotherapeutic Responses.

Brain metastasis (BM) occurs commonly in patients with lung adenocarcinomas. Limited evidence indicates safety and efficacy of immunotherapy for this metastatic tumor, though immune checkpoint blockade has become the front-line treatment for primary advanced non-small cell lung cancer. We aim to comprehensively compare tumor microenvironments (TME) between primary tumors (PT) and BM at single-cell resolution.

Incidence, mortality, and survival analyses of patients with thymic lymphoma.

Objectives: To explore the clinical and prognostic characteristics of thymic lymphoma and the effects of current treatments on the prognosis.

Methods: Patients diagnosed as primary thymic lymphoma between 1975 and 2018 from the nine states of the US were identified, including Atlanta, Connecticut, Detroit, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico, San Francisco-Oakland, Seattle-Puget Sound, and Utah. Incidence and mortality rates were analyzed using SEER*Stat 8.

Surgical strategies for patients with second primary non-small cell lung cancer lesions 2 cm or less in diameter.

Background And Purpose: The wide application of low-dose computed tomography (CT) has led to an increase in the detection of small lung cancer lesions. Moreover, surgical recommendations for second primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lesions ≤ 2 cm are obscure. This study compares the efficacy of wedge resection, lobectomy, and segmentectomy for small second primary NSCLC lesions.

External validation of five predictive models for postoperative cardiopulmonary morbidity in a Chinese population receiving lung resection.

Background: No postoperative cardiopulmonary morbidity models have been developed or validated in Chinese patients with lung resection. This study aims to externally validate five predictive models, including Eurolung models, the Brunelli model and the Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index, in a Chinese population.

Methods: Patients with lung cancer who underwent anatomic lung resection between 2018/09/01 and 2019/08/31 in our center were involved.

Effects of lobectomy in stage II/IIIA second primary lung cancer patients with prior non-small cell lung cancer: a SEER-based study.

Objective: Our study aimed to reveal the prognostic factors of second primary lung cancer and explore the optimal surgical procedure for Stage II/IIIA second primary lung cancer patients with prior non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: Patients with Stage II/IIIA second primary lung cancer were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database from 2004 to 2016. Lasso regression, along with univariate and multivariate Cox regression, was used to screen prognostic factors.

Differential genes and scoring criteria among immunogenomic clusters of lower-grade gliomas.

High incidence of recurrency had been a significant threat among glioma patients. Moreover, the performance of traditional therapies among recurrent gliomas was far from satisfying. Advances in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and immune responses on the brain inspired immunotherapy researches.

Long-term radiation therapy-related risk of second primary malignancies in patients with lung cancer.

Background: With the improvement of cancer therapy, a second primary malignancy (SPM) occurs more commonly among cancer survivors. At present, it remains unclear whether the radiation therapy for the initial lung cancer will increase the risk of developing a SPM. This study aims to investigate the long-term risk of a SPM attributable to the radiation therapy in patients with the initial lung cancer.

Comprehensive exploration of tumor mutational burden and immune infiltration in diffuse glioma.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been used as a novel treatment for diffuse gliomas, but the efficacy varies with patients, which may be associated with the tumor mutational burden (TMB) and immune infiltration. We aimed to explore the relationship between the two and their impacts on the prognosis.

Methods: The data of the training set were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA).

Predicting occult lymph node metastasis by nomogram in patients with lung adenocarcinoma ≤2 cm.

Previous researches had not proposed any prediction models for occult lymph node metastasis (OLNM). Considering the occurrence of OLNM and the importance of OLNM management, we aimed to develop a nomogram to predict OLNM of patients with lung adenocarcinoma ≤2 cm. Characteristics of patients with lung adenocarcinoma of ≤2 cm diameter at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

Role of chemotherapy for survival in patients with second primary non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The therapeutic effect of chemotherapy is still unclear for clinical usage among second primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The aim of this study was to verify the therapeutic effect of chemotherapy and identify the prognostic factors among patients who had received chemotherapy for second primary NSCLC.

Methods: A retrospective cohort was constructed based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.

Metastatic Patterns of Mediastinal Lymph Nodes in Small-Size Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (T1b).

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) status is critical to the treatment. Fewer studies has focused on LNM in patients with small-size non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aims to investigate clinicopathological characteristics associated with skip N2 (SN2) and non-skip N2 (NSN2) metastasis, and their metastatic patterns in NSCLC with tumor size of 1-2 cm.

Simultaneous detection of multiple exosomal microRNAs for exosome screening based on rolling circle amplification.

Exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) have attracted great attention as predictive and prognostic biomarkers of cancer. Profiling of miRNAs plays a key role in the effective diagnosis of cancers. However, simultaneous quantification of multiple miRNAs is challenging due to their homology and low abundance especially in exosomes.

Prognostic study for survival outcome following the treatment of second primary lung cancer in patients with previously resected non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Patients who have previously undergone surgical resection of initial primary lung cancer (IPLC) are at high risk of developing second primary lung cancer (SPLC). There are still no standard treatments for SPLC. This study aimed to identify the prognostic factors and compare survival between the different SPLC treatment groups.

An Externally-Validated Dynamic Nomogram Based on Clinicopathological Characteristics for Evaluating the Risk of Lymph Node Metastasis in Small-Size Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Lymph node metastasis (LNM) status is of key importance for the decision-making on treatment and survival prediction. There is no reliable method to precisely evaluate the risk of LNM in NSCLC patients. This study aims to develop and validate a dynamic nomogram to evaluate the risk of LNM in small-size NSCLC.

A SERS-colorimetric dual-mode aptasensor for the detection of cancer biomarker MUC1.

Human mucin-1 (MUC1) has attracted considerable attention owing to its overexpression in diverse malignancies. Here, for the rapid and efficient detection of MUC1, we present a SERS-colorimetric dual-mode aptasensor, by integrating SERS probes with magnetic separation, which has several distinctive advantages. Using such a dual-mode aptasensor, the colorimetric functionality is distinguishable by the naked eye, providing a fast and straightforward screening ability for the detection of MUC1.

Quaternary-Ammonium-Modulated Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Effect: Discovery, Mechanism, and Application for Highly Sensitive Sensing of Acetylcholine.

Quaternary ammonium (QA) plays multiple roles in biological functions, whose dysregulation may result in multiple diseases. However, how to efficiently detect QA-based materials such as acetylcholine (ACh) still remains a great challenge, especially in complex biological environments. Here, a new effect [called quaternary-ammonium-modulated surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (QAM-SERS) effect] is discovered, showing that the existence of QA will modulate the intensity of SERS signals in a concentration-dependent manner.

Hydrophobic Plasmonic Nanoacorn Array for a Label-Free and Uniform SERS-Based Biomolecular Assay.

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) aptasensor based on a hydrophobic assembled nanoacorn (HANA) was developed with improved reproducibility and reduced nonspecific binding effect. In the fabrication process, a hexagonal-packed gold film over nanosphere (AuFON) arrays was first obtained and used as a hydrophobic plasmonic substrate. Then, a uniform sub-3 nm molecular spacer array (containing Raman reporters) was prepared by patterning nanometric hydrophilic ultrathin patches onto the hydrophobic AuFON, in which the hydrophilic thin layer is composed of polymers and aptamers.