Preliminary Exploration of the Initial Diagnostic Prediction Model of Moderate Coronavirus Disease 2019 (2019-nCoV) Based on Clinical Data

Objective: To explore those differences and relationships of the initial diagnostic clinical data between confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV and suspected cases of COVID-19, and then to establish prediction models for predicting the probability of the first diagnosis of 2019-nCoV. Methods: A total of 81 suspected cases and 87 confirmed cases of moderate 2019-nCoV diagnosed initially in the isolation wards of the First People’s Hospital of Wuhu and the People’s Hospital of Wuwei and Wuhan Caidian Module Hospital with the help of our hospital doctors were gathered, and retrospectively analyzed. Results: The most common symptoms were fever (76.79%) and cough (64.29%) in the total of 168 cases. The median age was 45 (35 - 56) years old in the 87 confirmed cases of moderate 2019-nCoV, older than the median age 36 (29 - 50) in the 81 suspected cases. There were significant more in the former than in the latter in the incidence of myalgia, ground-glass opacity (GGO), invasions of lesion in the peripheral lobes, vascular thickening and bronchial wall thickening, interlobular septal thicking, and small pulmonary nodules. On the contrary, there were less in the former than in the latter in the total number of leukocytes and neutrophils in blood routine examination and the levels of procalcitonin (PCT). Two groups were statistically significantly different (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, fever, myalgia, GGO, vascular thickening and bronchial wall thickening, invasions of lesion in the peripheral lobes were independent factors for identification of 2019-nCoV, and the total number of leukocytes, cough, pharyngalgia and headache were negatively related. The established mathematical equation for predicting model for predicting the probability of the first diagnosis of 2019-nCoV is: P = ex/(1 + ex), x = −6.226 + (0.071 × ages) + (1.720 × fever) + (2.858 × myalgia) + (2.131 × GGO) + (3.000 × vascular thickening and bron-chial wall thickening) + (3.438 × invasions of lesion in the peripheral lobes) + (−0.304 × the number of leukocytes) + (−1.478 × cough) + (−1.830 × pharyngalgia) + (−2.413 × headache), where e is a natural logarithm. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of this model was calculated to be 0.945 (0.915 - 0.976). The sensitivity is 0.920 and the specificity is 0.827 when the appropriate critical point is 0.360. Conclusions: A mathematical equation prediction model for predicting the probability of the first diagnosis of 2019-nCoV can be established based on the initial diagnostic clinical data of moderate 2019-nCoV. The prediction model is a good assistant diagnostic method for its high accurateness.

Porphyromonas gingivalis disrupts vascular endothelial homeostasis in a TLR-NF-κB axis dependent manner

Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of mortality worldwide.Vascular endothelial dysfunction is viewed as the initial step of most cardiovascular diseases.Many studies have indicated that periodontal pathogens,especially Porphyromonas gingivalis,are closely correlated with vascular endothelial homeostasis,but the function of P.gingivalis and the underlying mechanisms are still elusive.To illuminate the effects and elucidate the mechanisms of P.gingivalis on endothelial structural integrity,we developed P.gingivalis infection models in vivo and in vitro.Endothelial cell proliferation,differentiation and apoptosis were detected.Here,we showed that P.gingivalis can impair endothelial integrity by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing endothelial mesenchymal transformation and apoptosis of endothelial cells,which reduce the cell levels and cause the endothelium to lose its ability to repair itself.A mechanistic analysis showed that TLR antagonist or NF-κB signalling inhibitor can largely rescue the damaged integrity of the endothelium caused by P.gingivalis,suggesting that TLR-NF-κB signalling plays a vital role in vascular endothelial homeostasis destroyed by P.gingivalis.These results suggest a potential intervention method for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Infrared small target detection using sparse representation

Sparse representation has recently been proved to be a powerful tool in image processing and object recognition.This paper proposes a novel small target detection algorithm based on this technique.By modelling a small target as a linear combination of certain target samples and then solving a sparse 0-minimization problem,the proposed apporach successfully improves and optimizes the small target representation with innovation.Furthermore,the sparsity concentration index（SCI） is creatively employed to evaluate the coefficients of each block representation and simpfy target identification.In the detection frame,target samples are firstly generated to constitute an over-complete dictionary matrix using Gaussian intensity model（GIM）,and then sparse model solvers are applied to finding sparse representation for each sub-image block.Finally,SCI lexicographical evalution of the entire image incorparates with a simple threshold locate target position.The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm are demonstrated by the exprimental results.

Low intensity near-infrared light promotes bone regeneration via circadian clock protein cryptochrome 1

Bone regeneration remains a great clinical challenge. Low intensity near-infrared(NIR) light showed strong potential to promote tissue regeneration, offering a promising strategy for bone defect regeneration. However, the effect and underlying mechanism of NIR on bone regeneration remain unclear. We demonstrated that bone regeneration in the rat skull defect model was significantly accelerated with low-intensity NIR stimulation. In vitro studies showed that NIR stimulation could promote the osteoblast differentiation in bone mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs) and MC3T3-E1 cells, which was associated with increased ubiquitination of the core circadian clock protein Cryptochrome 1(CRY1) in the nucleus. We found that the reduction of CRY1 induced by NIR light activated the bone morphogenetic protein(BMP) signaling pathways, promoting SMAD1/5/9 phosphorylation and increasing the expression levels of Runx2 and Osterix. NIR light treatment may act through sodium voltage-gated channel Scn4a, which may be a potential responder of NIR light to accelerate bone regeneration. Together, these findings suggest that low-intensity NIR light may promote in situ bone regeneration in a CRY1-dependent manner, providing a novel, efficient and non-invasive strategy to promote bone regeneration for clinical bone defects.

取向ZnO/Cu2O纳米异质结阵列的制备及光电特性研究

采用电化学沉积法制备了取向ZnO/Cu2O异质结阵列。通过FESEM、XRD、XPS、PL、IV特性测试等手段对形成的纳米异质结的形貌、晶体结构、化学成份、光致发光、IV特性和光电转换特性等进行了分析讨论。结果表明,沉积时间及沉积电压是影响制备高质量ZnO/Cu2O核壳异质结阵列的关键因素。异质结的Cu2O包覆层厚度约为15~25 nm,主要由单晶纳米晶粒构成,晶粒细致。测试发现,相对于纯ZnO纳米线阵列,ZnO/Cu2O异质结阵列的紫光发光峰强度有所减弱,绿光峰强度有所增强,且绿光峰的中心峰位还出现了20~30 nm的红移现象。同时,ZnO/Cu2O异质结阵列还表现出了较好的光电响应特性。

Effects of Early Infection of Tobacco Mosaic Virus on Photosynthetic Proteins and Its Control

[Objectives] This study was conducted to explore the optimal period of TMV control and the physiological sites that interfere with TMV infection. [Methods] Proteome analysis was performed on the host tissues(tobacco plants) at different time periods of viral infection, to verify the changes in the expression of differential protein genes and N and PR1-a in the photosynthetic pathway and porphyrin metabolism and chlorophyll metabolism pathways in proteome; and the tobacco plants were treated with different preparations. [Results] The expression levels of N and PR1-a in the tobacco leaves treated with preparation B reached the highest level, and the effects on the expression levels of the differential protein genes were also the most significant. The control effects of the preparations were tested by the half-leaf method, and the results showed that preparation B had a significant control effect against the early infection of the virus.[Conclusions] This study lays a foundation for the prevention and control of tobacco mosaic virus on crops.

Mitochondria-targeted Janus mesoporous nanoplatform for tumor photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy(PDT)is an effective treatment method for tumors.But the specifically accumulated of photosensitizer was very difficult in the tumor site,which greatly limited the efficacy of PDT.Here,mitochondria-targeted Janus mesoporous nanoplatform(JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc)for PDT was prepared,the nanoplatform has uniform size(275 nm)and good dispersion and biocompatibility.The confocal laser scanning microscopy(CLSM)revealed the signal of ZnPc of JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc were higher than JPMO-Pt-ZnPc in tumor cells,and flow cytometry results showed the cell uptake efficiency of JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc was 2.5-fold higher than that of JPMO-Pt-ZnPc.This revealed the modification of CTPP significantly improves the targeting ability of the nanoplatform.In vitro anti-tumor experiment showed the JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc significantly inhibited the growth of tumor cells upon the irradiation of low-power laser,and the survival rate of cells incubated with 60μg/mL JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc was only 3%.Simultaneously,compared with JPMO-Pt-ZnPc(not modified with mitochondria targeting molecules CTPP),the PDT efficacy of JPMO-Pt-CTPP-ZnPc was significantly better,as it has targeted mitochondria in cells.

Fast mode decomposition for few-mode fiber based on lightweight neural network

In this paper,we present a fast mode decomposition method for few-mode fibers,utilizing a lightweight neural network called MobileNetV3-Light.This method can quickly and accurately predict the amplitude and phase information of different modes,enabling us to fully characterize the optical field without the need for expensive experimental equipment.We train the MobileNetV3-Light using simulated near-field optical field maps,and evaluate its performance using both simulated and reconstructed near-field optical field maps.To validate the effectiveness of this method,we conduct mode decomposition experiments on a few-mode fiber supporting six linear polarization(LP)modes(LP01,LP11e,LP11o,LP21e,LP21o,LP02).The results demonstrate a remarkable average correlation of 0.9995 between our simulated and reconstructed near-field lightfield maps.And the mode decomposition speed is about 6 ms per frame,indicating its powerful real-time processing capability.In addition,the proposed network model is compact,with a size of only 6.5 MB,making it well suited for deployment on portable mobile devices.

山西小麦籽粒叶黄素含量变异及遗传特性分析

叶黄素在保护视力、预防糖尿病、心血管硬化和癌症等方面具有良好功效。利用小麦(Triticum aestivum)进行叶黄素的生物强化逐渐引起人们的重视。以3种环境下种植的194份山西小麦为材料,采用有机溶剂浸提法提取叶黄素,利用高效液相色谱法测定不同种质的叶黄素含量,分析小麦叶黄素含量的广义遗传力,及其与籽粒颜色、冬春性、地域分布、品种类型和主要农艺性状的关系,并通过全基因组关联分析挖掘叶黄素含量相关的遗传位点。结果表明,山西小麦品种间叶黄素含量变异范围较广,变异系数为33.12%-48.57%,基因型是影响叶黄素含量的主要因素,3种环境下小麦叶黄素含量范围分别为0.67-4.03、0.16-5.05和0.16-3.63μg·g^(-1);冬性小麦品种的平均含量高于春性品种,水地品种平均含量高于旱地品种,籽粒颜色与育种年代对叶黄素含量无显著影响;抽穗期、株高和千粒重与叶黄素含量呈显著负相关,其它农艺性状对叶黄素均无明显影响;全基因组关联分析在1B、3A和7A染色体上发现4个与叶黄素含量相关的主效位点,其中QLuc.3A和QLuc.7A.1是影响叶黄素含量的新位点。研究结果可为小麦叶黄素生物强化品种的选育和栽培提供有价值的信息。

辣椒素对多柔比星耐药的乳腺癌细胞的耐药逆转作用

肿瘤细胞高表达P糖蛋白(P-gp)会抑制化疗的疗效,导致肿瘤耐药,而P-gp抑制剂可逆转P-gp介导的肿瘤耐药。辣椒素是辣椒的主要活性成分,也是P-gp抑制剂。本研究旨在初步探讨辣椒素对多柔比星(DOX)耐药的乳腺癌MCF-7/DOX细胞的耐药逆转作用。细胞毒性研究结果表明,长期处理72 h后,辣椒素(50μM)可以逆转MCF-7/DOX细胞对多柔比星的耐药(逆转倍数为4.68倍),并浓度依赖性地下调MDR1基因m RNA的表达。在短期培养3h后,辣椒素可逆地、浓度依赖性地增加了DOX在MCF-7/DOX细胞中的蓄积,对DOX在细胞内亚细胞分布的影响不同于阳性对照药维拉帕米。辣椒素也能浓度依赖性地抑制线粒体生成ATP。综上所述,辣椒素能够逆转MCF-7/DOX细胞对DOX的耐药,可成为一种很有前途的逆转多药耐药的先导化合物。

Polarization-maintaining few mode fiber composed of a central circular-hole and an elliptical-ring core

We propose a novel waveguide design of polarization-maintaining few mode fiber(PM-FMF) supporting ≥10non-degenerate modes, utilizing a central circular air hole and a circumjacent elliptical-ring core. The structure endows a new degree of freedom to adjust the birefringence of all the guided modes, including the fundamental polarization mode. Numerical simulations demonstrate that, by optimizing the air hole and elliptical-ring core,a PM-FMF supporting 10 distinctive polarization modes has been achieved, and the effective index difference Δn_(eff) between the adjacent guided modes could be kept larger than 1.32 × 10^(-4) over the whole C +L band. The proposed fiber structure can flexibly tailored to support an even larger number of modes in PM-FMF(14-mode PM-FMF has been demonstrated as an example), which can be readily applicable to a scalable mode division multiplexing system.

Engineering ultra-flattened-dispersion photonic crystal fibers with uniform holes by rotations of inner rings

We present a novel method for engineering ultra-flattened-dispersion photonic crystal fibers with uniform air holes by rotations of inner air-hole rings around the fiber core.By choosing suitable rotation angles of each inner ring,theoretical results show that normal,anomalous,and nearly zero ultra-flattened-dispersion fibers in wide spectra ranges of interest can be obtained alternatively.Moreover,in our dispersion sensitive analysis,these types of fibers are robust to variations from optimal design parameters.The method is suitable for the accurate adjustment of fiber dispersion within a small range,which would be valuable for the fabrication of ultra-flattened-dispersion fibers and also have potential applications in wide-band high-speed optical communication systems.

Ultrastable Near-Infrared Aggregation-Induced Emission Nanoparticles as a Fluorescent Probe:Long-Term Tumor Monitoring and Lipid Droplet Tracking

Effective real-time tumor monitoring and cell tracking are of great importance for precise diagnosis and therapy of tumors,and also for the surveillance of biological processes.In this study,a new organic fluorescent nanoprobe(named TPATBT NPs)with unique aggregation-induced emission(AIE)characteristics has been obtained for the first time via facile synthesis to achieve real-time and long-term monitoring in living cells.The advantages of TPATBT NPs include small size(∼80 nm),a large Stokes shift(∼150 nm),high stability,good dispersibility in aqueous media,and biocompatibility.In addition,such NPs have showed excellent bioimaging performance and unusual long-term tumor monitoring properties.The red fluorescence signals inside MDA-MB-231 cells last for longer than 10 generations(18 days).Moreover,the cellular uptake of TPATBT NPs has been found to highly rely on energy-dependent endocytosis and clathrin-mediated endocytosis,and to primarily accumulate in lipid droplets(LDs),which can lead to targeted LD cellular imaging and therapy.Thus,TPATBT NPs can work as an excellent fluorescent nanoprobe for long-term monitoring of malignant tumor growth and dynamic biological processes.