Autocorrelation of a class of quaternary sequences of period 2pm2p^m

Sequences with good randomness properties are quite important for stream ciphers. In this paper, a new class of quaternary sequences is constructed by using generalized cyclotomic classes of $\mathbb{Z}_{2p^m}$ $(m\geq1)$. The exact values of autocorrelation of these sequences are determined based on cyclotomic numbers of order $2$ with respect to $p^m$. Results show that the presented sequences have the autocorrelations with at most $4$ values

MicroRNA-20b promotes cell growth of breast cancer cells partly via targeting phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN)

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, small non-coding RNAs that play important roles in multiple biological processes. MiR-20b has been reported to participate in breast cancer tumorigenic progression, however, the functional roles are still unclear and under debating. The aim of this study is to explicit the molecular mechanism of miR-20b underlying breast cancer tumorigenesis. RESULTS: In the present study, we showed that miR-20b was overexpressed in human breast cancer tissues and cell lines compared with paired adjacent normal tissues and normal cell lines, respectively. We identified PTEN, a well-known tumor suppressor, as the functional downstream target of miR-20b. Luciferase assays confirmed that miR-20b could directly bind to the 3′ untranslated region(UTR) of PTEN and suppress translation. Alteration of miR-20b expression changed PTEN protein level but not mRNA expression in ZR-75-30 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells, suggesting miR-20b regulates PTEN gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. Furthermore, upregulation of miR-20b significantly promoted the proliferation, colony formation and DNA synthesis of ZR-75-30 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Conversely, knockdown of miR-20b expression inhibited the growth of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION: Dysregulation of miR-20b plays critical roles in the breast cancer tumorigenesis, at least in part via targeting the tumor suppressor PTEN. This microRNA may serve as a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for breast cancer. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2045-3701-4-62) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Risk factors and a predictive model for the occurrence of adverse outcomes in patients with new-onset refractory status epilepsy

ObjectivesTo determine risk factors for the occurrence of adverse outcomes in patients with new-onset refractory status epilepsy (NORSE) and to construct a concomitant nomogram.MethodsSeventy-six adult patients with NORSE who were admitted to the Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between January 2016 and December 2022 were enrolled for the study. Participants were divided into two—those with good and poor functional outcomes—and their pertinent data was obtained from the hospital medical recording system. Univariate analysis was used to identify potential causes of poor outcomes in both groups and a multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify risk factors for the occurrence of poor outcomes. Using the R programming language RMS package, a nomogram was created to predict the occurrence of poor outcomes.ResultsThe NORSE risk of adverse outcome nomogram model included four predictors, namely duration of mechanical ventilation (OR = 4.370, 95% CI 1.221–15.640, p = 0.023), antiviral therapy (OR = 0.045, 95% CI 0.005–0.399, p = 0.005), number of anesthetics (OR = 13.428, 95% CI 2.16–83.48, p = 0.005) and neutrophil count/lymphocyte count ratio (NLR) (OR = 5.248, 95% CI 1.509–18.252, p = 0.009). The nomogram had good consistency and discrimination in predicting risk and can thus assist clinical care providers to assess outcomes for NORSE patients. Through ordinary bootstrap analyses, the results of the original set prediction were confirmed as consistent with those of the test set.ConclusionThe nomogram model of risk of adverse outcomes in NORSE adult patients developed in this study can facilitate clinicians to predict the risk of adverse outcomes in NORSE patients and make timely and reasonable interventions for patients at high risk of adverse outcomes

Chinese immigrant parents' vaccination decision making for children: A qualitative analysis

Background: While immunization coverage rates for childhood routine vaccines in Hong Kong are almost 100%, the uptake rates of optional vaccines remain suboptimal. Understanding parental decision-making for children's vaccination is important, particularly among minority groups who are most vulnerable and underserved. This study explored how a subsample of new immigrant mothers from mainland China, a rapidly-growing subpopulation in Hong Kong, made decisions on various childhood and adolescent vaccines for their offspring, and identified key influences affecting their decision making. Methods. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 Chinese new immigrant mothers recruited by purposive sampling. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed using a Grounded Theory approach. Results: Participants' conversation revealed five underlying themes which influenced parents' vaccination decision-making: (1) Institutional factors, (2) Insufficient vaccination knowledge and advice, (3) Affective impacts on motivation, (4) Vaccination barriers, and (5) Social influences. The role of social norms appeared overwhelmingly salient influencing parents' vaccination decision making. Institutional factors shaped parent's perceptions of vaccination necessity. Fear of vaccine-targeted diseases was a key motivating factor for parents adopting vaccination. Insufficient knowledge about vaccines and targeted diseases, lack of advice from health professionals and, if provided, suspicions regarding the motivations for such advice were common issues. Vaccination cost was a major barrier for many new immigrant parents. Conclusions: Social norms play a key role influencing parental vaccination decision-making. Insight gained from this study will help inform healthcare providers in vaccination communication and policymakers in future vaccination programme. © 2014 Wang et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

MicroRNA-155 Hallmarks Promising Accuracy for the Diagnosis of Various Carcinomas: Results from a Meta-Analysis

Background. Recent studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) have diagnostic values in various cancers. This meta-analysis seeks to summarize the global diagnostic role of miR-155 in patients with a variety of carcinomas. Methods. Eligible studies were retrieved by searching the online databases, and the bivariate meta-analysis model was employed to generate the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve. Results. A total of 17 studies dealing with various carcinomas were finally included. The results showed that single miR-155 testing allowed for the discrimination between cancer patients and healthy donors with a sensitivity of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.73-0.88) and specificity of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.70-0.83), corresponding to an area under curve (AUC) of 0.85, while a panel comprising expressions of miR-155 yielded a sensitivity of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.68-0.82) and specificity of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.77-0.86) in diagnosing cancers. The subgroup analysis displayed that serum miR-155 test harvested higher accuracy than plasma-based assay (the AUC, sensitivity, and specificity were, resp., 0.87 versus 0.73, 0.78 versus 0.74, and 0.77 versus 0.70). Conclusions. Our data suggest that single miR-155 profiling has a potential to be used as a screening test for various carcinomas, and parallel testing of miR-155 confers an improved specificity compared to single miR-155 analysis

Real-projective-plane hybrid-order topological insulator realized in phononic crystals

The manifold of the fundamental domain of the Brillouin zone is always considered to be a torus. However, under the synthetic gauge field, the Brillouin manifold can be modified by the projective symmetries, resulting in unprecedented topological properties. Here, we realize a real-projective-plane hybrid-order topological insulator in a phononic crystal by introducing the Z_2 gauge field. Such insulator hosts two momentum-space non-symmorphic reflection symmetries, which change the Brillouin manifold from a torus to a real projective plane. These symmetries can simultaneously lead to Klein-bottle and quadrupole topologies in different bulk gaps. The non-symmorphic reflection symmetries on Brillouin real projective plane, edge states of Klein-bottle insulator, and corner states of quadrupole insulator are observed. These results evidence the hybrid-order topology on Brillouin manifold beyond the torus, and enrich the topological physics.Comment: 4 figure

Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Improves the Postoperative Quality of Recovery and Analgesia after Gynecological Laparoscopic Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background. We conducted this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the effects of transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on the quality of recovery (QoR) and postoperative analgesia after gynecological laparoscopic surgery. Methods. 74 American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA) I or II patients undergoing gynecological laparoscopic surgery were randomly allocated to TEAS or control groups. The primary outcome was the quality of recovery, which was assessed on the day before surgery and 24 h after surgery using a 40-item questionnaire. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pain scores, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), duration of postanesthesia care unit (PACU) stay, and patient’s satisfaction. Results. The TEAS group had higher QoR scores than control group upon 24 h after surgery (177 versus 165; P<0.001). Compared with the control group, postoperative pain scores and the cumulative number of opioids administered were lower in the TEAS group patients (P=0.04). TEAS reduced the incidence of PONV and dizziness, as well as duration of PACU stay. Simultaneously, the patient’s satisfaction scores were higher in the TEAS group (P=0.002). Conclusion. Preoperative TEAS enhances QoR, improves postoperative analgesia and patient’s satisfaction, alleviates postoperative side effects, and accelerates discharge after general anesthesia for gynecological laparoscopic surgery