Behavior of susceptible-vaccinated--infected--recovered epidemics with diversity in the infection rate of the individuals

We study a susceptible-vaccinated--infected--recovered (SVIR) epidemic-spreading model with diversity of infection rate of the individuals. By means of analytical arguments as well as extensive computer simulations, we demonstrate that the heterogeneity in infection rate can either impede or accelerate the epidemic spreading, which depends on the amount of vaccinated individuals introduced in the population as well as the contact pattern among the individuals. Remarkably, as long as the individuals with different capability of acquiring the disease interact with unequal frequency, there always exist a cross point for the fraction of vaccinated, below which the diversity of infection rate hinders the epidemic spreading and above which expedites it. The overall results are robust to the SVIR dynamics defined on different population models; the possible applications of the results are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, many figure

Co-targeting of DNA, RNA, and protein molecules provides optimal outcomes for treating osteosarcoma and pulmonary metastasis in spontaneous and experimental metastasis mouse models.

Metastasis is a major cause of mortality for cancer patients and remains as the greatest challenge in cancer therapy. Driven by multiple factors, metastasis may not be controlled by the inhibition of single target. This study was aimed at assessing the hypothesis that drugs could be rationally combined to co-target critical DNA, RNA and protein molecules to achieve "saturation attack" against metastasis. Independent actions of the model drugs DNA-intercalating doxorubicin, RNA-interfering miR-34a and protein-inhibiting sorafenib on DNA replication, RNA translation and protein kinase signaling in highly metastatic, human osteosarcoma 143B cells were demonstrated by the increase of γH2A.X foci formation, reduction of c-MET expression and inhibition of Erk1/2 phosphorylation, respectively, and optimal effects were found for triple-drug combination. Consequently, triple-drug treatment showed a strong synergism in suppressing 143B cell proliferation and the greatest effects in reducing cell invasion. Compared to single- and dual-drug treatment, triple-drug therapy suppressed pulmonary metastases and orthotopic osteosarcoma progression to significantly greater degrees in orthotopic osteosarcoma xenograft/spontaneous metastases mouse models, while none showed significant toxicity. In addition, triple-drug therapy improved the overall survival to the greatest extent in experimental metastases mouse models. These findings demonstrate co-targeting of DNA, RNA and protein molecules as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of metastasis

Neurosurgical interventions for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a single institution experience

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a frequent head and neck cancer in southern China and Southeast Asia. The majority of NPC patients are managed by radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and head and neck surgeons. Actually, neurosurgical interventions are warranted under specific circumstances. In this article, we described our experience as neurosurgeons in the management of NPC patients. METHODS: Medical records of NPC patients who received neurosurgical procedure at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were reviewed. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients were identified. Among 27 cases, neurosurgical procedures were performed in 18 (66.7%) with radiation-induced temporal necrosis, 2 (7.4%) with radiation-induced sarcoma, 4 (14.8%) with synchronous NPC with primary brain tumors, 2 (7.4%) with recurrent NPC involving skull base, and 1 (3.7%) with metachronous skull eosinophilic granuloma, respectively. The diagnosis is challenging in specific cases and initial misdiagnoses were found in 6 (22.2%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: For NPC patients with intracranial or skull lesions, the initial diagnosis can be occasionally difficult because of the presence or a history of NPC and related treatment. Unawareness of these entities can result in misdiagnosis and subsequent improper treatment. Neurosurgical interventions are necessary for the diagnosis and treatment for these patients

Experimental ten-photon entanglement

Quantum entanglement among multiple spatially separated particles is of fundamental interest, and can serve as central resources for studies in quantum nonlocality, quantum-to-classical transition, quantum error correction, and quantum simulation. The ability of generating an increasing number of entangled particles is an important benchmark for quantum information processing. The largest entangled states were previously created with fourteen trapped ions, eight photons, and five superconducting qubits. Here, based on spontaneous parametric down-converted two-photon entanglement source with simultaneously a high brightness of ~12 MHz/W, a collection efficiency of ~70% and an indistinguishability of ~91% between independent photons, we demonstrate, for the first time, genuine and distillable entanglement of ten single photons under different pump power. Our work creates a state-of-the-art platform for multi-photon experiments, and provide enabling technologies for challenging optical quantum information tasks such as high-efficiency scattershot boson sampling with many photons.Comment: 65 pages, supplementary information included, with all raw data. to appear in Physical Review Letter

FASN regulates cellular response to genotoxic treatments by increasing PARP-1 expression and DNA repair activity via NF-κB and SP1

Fatty acid synthase (FASN), the sole cytosolic mammalian enzyme for de novo lipid synthesis, is crucial for cancer cell survival and associates with poor prognosis. FASN overexpression has been found to cause resistance to genotoxic insults. Here we tested the hypothesis that FASN regulates DNA repair to facilitate survival against genotoxic insults and found that FASN suppresses NF-κB but increases specificity protein 1 (SP1) expression. NF-κB and SP1 bind to a composite element in the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) promoter in a mutually exclusive manner and regulate PARP-1 expression. Up-regulation of PARP-1 by FASN in turn increases Ku protein recruitment and DNA repair. Furthermore, lipid deprivation suppresses SP1 expression, which is able to be rescued by palmitate supplementation. However, lipid deprivation or palmitate supplementation has no effect on NF-κB expression. Thus, FASN may regulate NF-κB and SP1 expression using different mechanisms. Altogether, we conclude that FASN regulates cellular response against genotoxic insults by up-regulating PARP-1 and DNA repair via NF-κB and SP1