Potential factors associated with clinical stage of nasopharyngeal carcinoma at diagnosis: a case–control study

Background: In China, most patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC) are diagnosed at a late stage and con?sequently have a poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate potential factors associated with the clinical stage of NPC at diagnosis.Methods: Data were obtained from 118 patients with early?stage NPC and 274 with late?stage NPC who were treated at Sun Yat?sen University Cancer Center between August 2014 and July 2015. Patients were individually matched by age, sex, and residence, and a conditional logistic regression model was applied to assess the associa?tions of clinical stage at diagnosis with socioeconomic status indicators, knowledge of NPC, physical examinations, patient interval, and risk factors for NPC.Results: Although knowledge of early NPC symptoms, smoking cessation, and patient interval were important fac?tors, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, motorbike ownership, and physical examination exhibited the strong?est associations with the clinical stage of NPC at diagnosis. Compared with smoking fewer than ten cigarettes a day, smoking 10–30 cigarettes [odds ratio(OR) 4.03; 95% confidence interval(CI) 1.11–14.68] or more than 30 cigarettes(OR 11.46; 95% CI 1.26–103.91) was associated with an increased risk of late diagnosis. Compared with not owning a motorbike, owning a motorbike(OR 0.38; 95% CI 0.23–0.64) was associated with early diagnosis. Subjects who under?went physical examinations were less likely to receive a late diagnosis than those who did not undergo examinations(OR 0.50; 95% CI 0.28–0.89). However, indicators of wealth were not significant factors.Conclusions: Initiatives to improve NPC patient prognosis should aim to promote knowledge about early symptoms and detection, health awareness, and accessibility to health facilities among all patients, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Impact of different interaction behavior on epidemic spreading in time-dependent social networks

We investigate the impact of pairwise and group interactions on the spread of epidemics through an activity-driven model based on time-dependent networks.The effects of pairwise/group interaction proportion and pairwise/group interaction intensity are explored by extensive simulation and theoretical analysis.It is demonstrated that altering the group interaction proportion can either hinder or enhance the spread of epidemics,depending on the relative social intensity of group and pairwise interactions.As the group interaction proportion decreases,the impact of reducing group social intensity diminishes.The ratio of group and pairwise social intensity can affect the effect of group interaction proportion on the scale of infection.A weak heterogeneous activity distribution can raise the epidemic threshold,and reduce the scale of infection.These results benefit the design of epidemic control strategy.

诊断时鼻咽癌临床分期相关的潜在因素:一项病例对照研究

背景与目的在我国,大多数鼻咽癌(nasopharyngeal carcinoma,NPC)患者都是在晚期才被诊断出来的,并且患者预后较差。本研究旨在探讨与诊断时NPC临床分期相关的潜在因素。方法将2014年8月至2015年7月在中山大学肿瘤防治中心接受治疗的118例早期NPC患者和274例晚期NPC患者的临床数据纳入本研究。按照年龄、性别和居住地对患者进行匹配,应用条件logistic回归模型评估诊断时临床分期与社会经济状况指标、NPC的认知、体格检查、患病检查间隔时间和NPC风险因素的相关性。结果虽然早期NPC症状的认知、戒烟和患病检查间隔时间是重要因素,但患者每天的吸烟量、摩托车拥有情况和体检与诊断时NPC的临床分期密切相关。与每天吸烟少于10支相比,每天吸烟10–30支[比值比(odds ratio,OR)=4.03;95%置信区间(confidence interval,CI):1.11–14.68]或每天吸烟30支以上(OR=11.46;95%CI:1.26–103.91)延迟诊断的风险增加。拥有摩托车(OR=0.38;95%CI:0.23–0.64)比不拥有摩托车会被更早诊断出来。接受体检的患者比未接受检查的患者被延迟诊断的可能性更小(OR=0.50;95%CI:0.28–0.89)。但是,财富指标并不是显著因素。结论改善NPC患者预后的措施应旨在提高所有患者对早期症状和体检的认知、健康意识和卫生设施的可及性,而不论其社会经济状况如何。

老年胸部手术患者术前呼出气一氧化氮与术后肺部并发症的关系

目的探讨老年胸部手术患者术前呼出气一氧化氮(FeNO)与术后肺部并发症(PPCs)的关系。方法选取2017年6月-2019年6月锦州医科大学附属第一医院收治的92例老年胸部手术患者作为研究对象。根据是否发生PPCs,分为PPCs组16例与非PPCs组76例。详细统计患者临床体检和手术资料,并采用纳库伦呼气分析仪测定术前10 min FeNO。结果 PPCs组年龄高于非PPCs组(P <0.05),有吸烟史、COPD患者占比高于非PPCs组(P <0.05),腔镜手术患者占比低于非PPCs组(P <0.05)。PPCs组与非PPCs组术前10 min FeNO分布情况比较,差异有统计学意义(P <0.05)。将年龄、吸烟史、COPD、是否腔镜手术及术前10 min FeNO纳入二元Logistic回归分析,结果显示腔镜手术[OlR=12.18(95 CI:1.28,116.33)]、年龄[OlR=0.88(95 CI:0.81,0.96)]、COPD[OlR=758.20(95 CI:11.04,52 086.77)]及术前10 min FeNO[OlR=1.34(95 CI:1.13,1.59)]是老年胸部手术患者PPCs的影响因素。根据术前10 min FeNO绘制ROC曲线图,曲线下面积为0.821,此时FeNO截断值为27.5 ppb,约登指数为0.583,敏感性为68.8%,特异性为89.5%。结论术前10 min FeNO过高与老年胸部手术患者PPCs发生风险增加有关。

Broadband and fabrication-tolerant 3-dB couplers with topological valley edge modes

3-dB couplers,which are commonly used in photonic integrated circuits for on-chip information processing,precision measurement,and quantum computing,face challenges in achieving robust performance due to their limited 3-dB bandwidths and sensitivity to fabrication errors.To address this,we introduce topological physics to nanophotonics,developing a framework for topological 3-dB couplers.These couplers exhibit broad working wavelength range and robustness against fabrication dimensional errors.By leveraging valley-Hall topology and mirror symmetry,the photonic-crystal-slab couplers achieve ideal 3-dB splitting characterized by a wavelength-insensitive scattering matrix.Tolerance analysis confirms the superiority on broad bandwidth of 48 nm and robust splitting against dimensional errors of 20 nm.We further propose a topological interferometer for on-chip distance measurement,which also exhibits robustness against dimensional errors.This extension of topological principles to the fields of interferometers,may open up new possibilities for constructing robust wavelength division multiplexing,temperature-drift-insensitive sensing,and optical coherence tomography applications.

Hyperlanins A and B, Two Highly Rearranged Meroterpenoids from Hypericum lancasteri

Hyperlanins A(1)and B(2),two highly rearranged polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol(PPAP)-related meroterpenoids based on different new carbon skeletons,were isolated from Hypericum lancasteri.Compound 1 incorporates an unprecedented 5/6/7/5 ring system featuring a 3,13-dioxatetracyclo[9.2.1.12.5.01.8]pentadecane core.Compound 2 possesses a unique compact 6/6/5/6/6/5/6 ring system with a caged tetracyclo[6.2.1.13.8.05,11]dodecane motif.Their structures were established by spectroscopic data,X-ray diffraction,and computational approaches.Both compounds showed anti-inflammatory activity in vitro.Compounds 1 and 2 could decrease the lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-/nigericin-induced IL-1βrelease in THP-1 cells.Both compounds also showed inhibition in hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1αa)pathway luciferase reporter assay.

In-plane excitation of a topological nanophotonic corner state at telecom wavelengths in a cross-coupled cavity

In silicon photonics,the cavity mode is a fundamental mechanism to design integrated passive devices for on-chip optical information processing.Recently,the corner state in a second-order topological photonic crystal(PC)rendered a global method to achieve an intrinsic cavity mode.It is crucial to explore such a topological corner state in silicon photonic integrated circuits(PICs)under in-plane excitation.Here,we study both theoretically and experimentally the topological nanophotonic corner state in a silicon-on-insulator PC cavity at a telecommunications wavelength.In theory,the expectation values of a mirror-flip operation for the Bloch modes of a PC slab are used to characterize the topological phase.Derived from topologically distinct bulk polarizations of two types of dielectric-vein PCs,the corner state is induced in a 90-deg-bend interface,localizing at the corner point of real space and the Brillouin zone boundary of reciprocal space.To implement in-plane excitation in an experiment,we fabricate a cross-coupled PC cavity based on the bend interface and directly image the corner state near 1383 nm using a far-field microscope.Finally,by means of the temporal coupled-mode theory,the intrinsic Q factor of a cross-coupled cavity(about 8000)is retrieved from the measured transmission spectra.This work gives deterministic guidance and potential applications for cavity-mode-based passive devices in silicon PICs,such as optical filters,routers,and multiplexers.

Ideal nodal rings of one-dimensional photonic crystals in the visible region

Three-dimensional(3D)artificial metacrystals host rich topological phases,such as Weyl points,nodal rings,and 3D photonic topological insulators.These topological states enable a wide range of applications,including 3D robust waveguides,one-way fiber,and negative refraction of the surface wave.However,these carefully designed metacrystals are usually very complex,hindering their extension to nanoscale photonic systems.Here,we theoretically proposed and experimentally realized an ideal nodal ring in the visible region using a simple 1D photonic crystal.The TT-Berrry phase around the ring is manifested by a 2π reflection phase's winding and the resultant drumhead surface states.By breaking the inversion symmetry,the nodal ring can be gapped and the n-Berry phase would diffuse into a toroidal-shaped Berry flux,resulting in photonic ridge states(the 3D extension of quantum valley Hall states).Our results provide a simple and feasible platform for exploring 3D topological physics and its potential applications in nanophotonics.

Coercivity enhancement of hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets with Pr-Cu alloy addition

Effects of low-melting Pr-Cu alloy addition on the microstructure and magnetic properties of the hot-deformation Nd-Fe-B magnets were investigated.A small amount of Pr-Cu addition enhances the coercivity of the hot-deformation Nd-Fe-B magnets obviously.The coercivity of the hotdeformation Nd-Fe-B magnets with 4.0 wt%Pr_(85)Cu_(15)addition increases to 1271 kA·m^(-1),75.69%higher than that of Pr-Cu-free magnet(723 kA·m^(-1)),and then decreases with5 wt%Pr_(85)Cu_(15)addition.It is observed that there a uniform RE-rich phase is formed wrapping the Nd2Fe14B main phase in the sample with 4.0%Pr_(85)Cu_(15)addition by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),which promotes the coercivity.The angular dependence of coercivity for the hot-deformation Nd-Fe-B magnets indicates that the coercivity mechanism is nucleation combined with domain wall pinning.The domain wall pinning is weakened,while the nucleation is enhanced after Pr-Cu addition.Theremanence,intrinsic coercivity,and maximum magnetic energy product of the original Nd-Fe-B magnet are 1.45 T,723 kA·m^(-1),and 419.8 kJ·m^(-3),respectively,and those of the sample with 4.0%Pr_(85)Cu_(15)alloy addition are 1.30 T,1271 kA·m^(-1),and 330.0 kJ·m^(-3),respectively.