Surface plasmon polaritons assisted diffraction in periodic subwavelength holes of metal films with reduced interplane coupling

Metal films grown on Si wafer perforated with a periodic array of subwavelength holes have been fabricated and anomalous enhanced transmission in the mid-infrared regime has been observed. High order transmission peaks up to Si(2,2) are clearly revealed due to the large dielectric constant contrast of the dielectrics at the opposite interfaces. Si(1,1) peak splits at oblique incidence both in TE and TM polarization, which confirms that anomalous enhanced transmission is a surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) assisted diffraction phenomenon. Theoretical transmission spectra agree excellently with the experimental results and confirm the role of SPPs diffraction by the lattice.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, 26 reference

Composite metamaterials with dual-band magnetic resonances in the terahertz frequency regime

Composite metamaterials(CMMs) combining a subwavelength metallic hole array (i.e. one-layer fishnet structure) and an array of split-ring resonators(SRRs) on the same board are fabricated with gold films on silicon wafer. Transmission measurements of the CMMs in the terahertz range have been performed. Dual-band magnetic resonances, namely, a LC resonance at 4.40 THz and an additional magnetic resonance at 8.64 THz originating from the antiparallel current in wire pairs in the CMMs are observed when the electrical field polarization of the incident light is parallel to the gap of the component SRR. The numerical simulations agree well with the experimental results and further clarify the nature of the dual-band magnetic resonances.Comment: 4 figures, 14 page

Simulation of coastal resource and environmental carrying capacity in the Yangtze River delta coastal zone based on shared socioeconomic pathways

Study of resource and environmental carrying capacity is an important research content of sustainable development science and the theoretical support for land space optimization. Existing research theories need to be deepened, and spatial simulation studies are relatively lacking. This study aimed to assess the current and future resource and environmental carrying capacity in the Yangtze River Delta region’s coastal zone and enhance sustainable development by exploring the application of shared socioeconomic pathway (SSPs) scenarios at the spatial pattern scale in regional resource and environmental carrying capacity simulation studies. Based on the FLUS and InVEST models, this study introduced the Coastal Resource and Environmental Carrying Capacity Index (CRECC) from the dimensions of “pressure” and “support” using land use remote sensing monitoring data and SSPs scenario data. A CRECC evaluation index system and quantitative evaluation method for the Yangtze River Delta were constructed. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, the CRECC of the Yangtze River Delta coastal zone increased, the carrying capacity decreased, and the spatial distribution was low in the north and high in the south. The carrying capacity under the five SSP scenarios did not improve. The mismatch between natural ecological conditions and the intensity of human activities in the shoreline area was more prominent than in the study area, with the SSP1 and SSP5 scenarios being the most obvious. The supporting indicators have a more significant influence on improving CRECC than the pressure indicators, among which the supply capacity of water resources, land resources, and atmospheric environmental quality are the main limiting factors in the process of future sustainable economic-ecological development. This study provides ideas and examples for exploring spatial and temporal predictions of resources and environmental carrying capacity in coastal zones

Multiple drug-resistant HBV mutation may contribute to poor response of adefovir + entecavir in entecavir-resistant patients

Introduction: Adefovir plus entecavir (ADV+ETV) rescue therapy in ETV-resistant patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is suboptimal in some patients. This study aims to elucidate the evolutionary characteristics of drug-resistant HBV mutants and their association with clinical responses in such patients. Methodology: Thirty-seven ETV-resistant patients were enrolled, among whom twelve had an inadequate virological response to ADV+ETV rescue therapy. The clonal sequence (³ 20 clones/sample) of HBV reverse transcriptase gene was performed to identify the resistance mutations. Phenotypic analysis was performed to evaluate the replication capacity and drug susceptibility of the mutants. Results: ETV-resistant mutants were continuously detected in 10 of the 12 patients, and multidrug-resistant (MDR) mutants, including a novel strain (rtL180M+A181V+T184A+S202G+M204V), were detected in two patients. Seven of the 12 patients who subsequently received tenofovir (TDF)-based therapy for 38 (23−60) months all achieved undetectable HBV DNA after treatment, and ETV-resistant mutants converted to wild-type in the four patients’ samples. In contrast, the other five patients who did not achieve an adequate virological response had remaining of ETV-resistant mutants. The novel MDR strain exhibited multiple resistances to LAM, ADV, and ETV, and 11.2-fold lower susceptibility to TDF. Conclusions: This study is the first to demonstrate that MDR HBV mutations may contribute to the poor efficacy of ADV+ETV combination therapy in ETV-resistant patients. Moreover, a novel MDR HBV strain was identified. Our results indicate that a TDF-based rescue therapy would be effective for the treatment of the refractory cases

Exploration of the mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine for anxiety and depression in patients with diarrheal irritable bowel syndrome based on network pharmacology and meta-analysis

BackgroundThe efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in managing irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) accompanied by anxiety and depression remains uncertain. Thus, a systematic review was carried out employing meta-analysis and network pharmacology to ascertain the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of CHM therapy.MethodsBy conducting a systematic review, including literature search, screening, and data extraction, we identified 25 randomized controlled trials to assess CHM’s effectiveness in treating irritable bowel syndrome alongside anxiety and depression. Network pharmacology was utilized to scrutinize the metabolite utility of CHM in addressing this condition. Potential primary mechanisms were synthesized using information sourced from the PubMed database.ResultsTwenty-five studies, including 2055 patients, were analyzed, revealing significant treatment efficacy for IBS-D in the trial group compared to controls [OR = 4.01, 95% CI (2.99, 5.36), I2 = 0%] Additionally, treatment for depression [SMD = −1.08, 95% CI (-1.30, −0.86), p < 0.00001, I2 = 68%; SDS: SMD = -1.69, 95% CI (-2.48, −0.90), p < 0.0001, I2 = 96%] and anxiety [HAMA: SMD = -1.29, 95% CI (-1.68, −0.91), p < 0.00001, I2 = 89%; SAS: SMD = -1.75, 95% CI (-2.55, −0.95), p < 0.00001, I2 = 96%] significantly improved in the trial group. Furthermore, the trial group exhibited a significantly lower disease relapse rate [OR = 0.30, 95% CI (0.20, 0.44), p < 0.00001, I2 = 0%]. CHM treatment consistently improved IBS severity (IBS-SSS) and symptom scores. Network pharmacology analysis identified key chemical metabolites in traditional Chinese medicine formulations, including Beta-sitosterol, Stigmasterol, Quercetin, Naringenin, Luteolin, Kaempferol, Nobiletin, Wogonin, Formononetin, and Isorhamnetin. Utilizing the STRING database and Cytoscape v3.9.0 software, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network revealed the top eight key targets: IL-6, TNF, PPARG, PTGS2, ESR1, NOS3, MAPK8, and AKT1, implicated in anti-inflammatory responses, antioxidant stress modulation, and neurotransmitter homeostasis maintenance.ConclusionChinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) offers a promising and safe treatment approach for patients dealing with Diarrheal Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS-D) accompanied by anxiety and depression; thus, indicating its potential for practical implementation. The most active metabolites of CHM could simultaneously act on the pathological targets of IBS-D, anxiety, and depression.The diverse scope of CHM’s therapeutic role includes various aspects and objectives, underscoring its potential for broad utilization

A Network-Based Approach to Investigate the Pattern of Syndrome in Depression

In Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, syndrome is essential to diagnose diseases and treat patients, and symptom is the foundation of syndrome differentiation. Thus the combination and interaction between symptoms represent the pattern of syndrome at phenotypic level, which can be modeled and analyzed using complex network. At first, we collected inquiry information of 364 depression patients from 2007 to 2009. Next, we learned classification models for 7 syndromes in depression using naïve Bayes, Bayes network, support vector machine (SVM), and C4.5. Among them, SVM achieves the highest accuracies larger than 0.9 except for Yin deficiency. Besides, Bayes network outperforms naïve Bayes for all 7 syndromes. Then key symptoms for each syndrome were selected using Fisher’s score. Based on these key symptoms, symptom networks for 7 syndromes as well as a global network for depression were constructed through weighted mutual information. Finally, we employed permutation test to discover dynamic symptom interactions, in order to investigate the difference between syndromes from the perspective of symptom network. As a result, significant dynamic interactions were quite different for 7 syndromes. Therefore, symptom networks could facilitate our understanding of the pattern of syndrome and further the improvement of syndrome differentiation in depression.</jats:p

A Two-Level Model for the Analysis of Syndrome of Acute Ischemic Stroke: From Diagnostic Model to Molecular Mechanism

Prompt and accurate diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke is critical to seek acute therapy. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) science, there is a comprehensive system of diagnosis and medical care of acute ischemic stroke. Here we introduce a two-level model for the analysis of TCM syndrome of acute ischemic stroke. Owing to the limitation of sample size and imbalance, we focused on the analysis of wind-phlegm collateral obstruction syndrome (Feng Tan Yu Zu Zheng). Firstly, a Support-Vector-Machine- (SVM-) based diagnostic model was set up through selection of core symptoms. After pairwise undersampling, we improved the performance of prediction and generated the core symptoms-based diagnostic model of wind-phlegm collateral obstruction syndrome. Next, Pathway Pattern-based method and MetaDrug platform were used to shed light on the molecular basis of the significance of core symptoms in three complementary aspects: symptom-gene-pathway multilayer correlation network, enriched pathways, and most relevant interaction network. The integration of diagnostic model and molecular mechanism analysis creates an interesting perspective for better understanding the syndrome. The two-level model would provide a new opportunity for the study of TCM syndromes.</jats:p