Transmission of doughnut light through a bull's eye structure

We experimentally investigate the extraordinary optical transmission of doughnut light through a bull's eye structure. Since the intensity is vanished in the center of the beam, almost all the energy reaches the circular corrugations (not on the hole), excite surface plasmons which propagate through the hole and reradiate photons. The transmitted energy is about 57 times of the input energy on the hole area. It is also interesting that the transmitted light has a similar spatial shape with the input light although the diameter of the hole is much smaller than the wavelength of light.Comment: 3 pages,4 figure

Toward the Theoretical Constructs of East Asian Cultural Psychology

The core values of traditional Chinese Confucian culture such as “five virtues”, “five cardinal relationships”, and the thought of “golden mean” exert significant influence on East Asian culture, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cultures. In recent years, with the rapid development of the studies of cultural psychology in East Asian cultural circles, it is necessary to conduct the theoretical constructs to integrate the common psychological characteristics in East Asian cultural circle. The theoretical constructs of East Asian Cultural Psychology regard the impacts of traditional Confucian culture on East Asian culture and the individual as its core, and focus on self-construal, self-esteem, self-enhancement, collectivism, the differences of relationship and class, and the thinking of “golden mean” among the East Asians as the key constructs of the theoretical framework

Chronic disease knowledge and its determinants among chronically ill adults in rural areas of Shanxi Province in China: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic disease knowledge is an important prerequisite for an individual to implement behavioural changes towards the prevention and control of chronic diseases (CDs). Limited information is available about the relationship between different levels of health services and CD knowledge among rural residents with CDs. This research explores the distribution characteristics of CD knowledge and its determinants among chronically ill adults in rural China according to the aspects of patients and health service providers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was undertaken to estimate distribution characteristics of CD knowledge and collect data of socio-demographic characteristics, healthcare institutions attendances, duration of illness, and family history of CDs. Participants were 1060 rural adults with hypertension or type II diabetes. Correct responses to 12 questions were summed into a total knowledge score, and participants were divided into an adequate health knowledge group (score ≥ 6) or an inadequate health knowledge group (score < 5). Logistic regression was used determine the predictors of adequate CD health knowledge.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of participants was 61.34 years (SD = 10 years). Out of a possible 12, the median score on the CD knowledge questionnaire was 3.0. About 25% of participants were classified as having adequate CD knowledge. Those who had a family history and/or long duration of CDs were more likely to have adequate health knowledge. Participants who received CD health information and self-care instructions from their physicians had 2.67 and 13.34 times greater odds of possessing adequate health knowledge than those who received no information, respectively. Adequate CD knowledge was strongly associated with regular check-ups, especially for those who attended township hospitals (OR = 40.17).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Having regular check-ups at a fixed healthcare institution and receiving health information from physicians are important measures for increasing CD knowledge among rural adults with CDs. Township hospitals are the most effective settings for health education. It is important to develop an effective community-based prevention and control mechanism for CDs. This requires township hospitals to take a leading role in improving CD knowledge among chronically ill patients, and enhancing implementation of health education in rural China.</p

Construction and analysis of a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) library of genic multiple-allele inherited male-sterility in Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. pekinensis)

Utilization of male sterility is a key method for producing crossbred Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis (Lour.) Olsson. In this study, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was used to construct sterility and fertility cDNA libraries, which included differentially, expressed clones between fertile and sterile buds of the A/B line ‘AB01’. The positive clones were randomly selected by polymerase chain reaction amplification (PCR) and 25 high quality sequences (22 from the fertile-tester library and three from the sterile-tester libraries) were generated. The fragment lengths varied from 77 to 469 bp. Differential expression patterns between fertile and sterile buds were selected and verified using five expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Results indicated that, three ESTs were expressed only in fertile buds and two ESTs were down-regulated in sterile buds. According to the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) screening and functional annotation, the 25 ESTs were homologous to known sequences deposited in National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). These genes had homology to known proteins such as flowers/buds development proteins, metabolic-related proteins, cell structure proteins, cell growth/division proteins and secondary metabolic-related proteins. The results suggested that, these proteins played a critical role in nuclear male sterility progression of genic multiple-allele inherited male-sterility in Chinese cabbage.Key words: Chinese cabbage, male sterility, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH), expressed sequence tags (ESTs)

Detection of gamma-ray emission from the Coma cluster with Fermi Large Area Telescope and tentative evidence for an extended spatial structure

Many galaxy clusters have giant halos of non-thermal radio emission, indicating the presence of relativistic electrons in the clusters. Relativistic protons may also be accelerated by merger and/or accretion shocks in galaxy clusters. These cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and/or protons are expected to produce gamma-rays through inverse-Compton scatterings or inelastic $pp$ collisions respectively. Despite of intense efforts in searching for high-energy gamma-ray emission from galaxy clusters, conclusive evidence is still missing so far. Here we report the discovery of $\ge 200$ MeV gamma-ray emission from the Coma cluster direction with an unbinned likelihood analysis of the 9 years of {\it Fermi}-LAT Pass 8 data. The gamma-ray emission shows a spatial morphology roughly coincident with the giant radio halo, with an apparent excess at the southwest of the cluster. Using the test statistic analysis, we further find tentative evidence that the gamma-ray emission at the Coma center is spatially extended. The extended component has an integral energy flux of $\sim 2\times 10^{-12}{\rm \ erg\ cm^{-2}\ s^{-1}}$ in the energy range of 0.2 - 300 GeV and the spectrum is soft with a photon index of $\simeq-2.7$. Interpreting the gamma-ray emission as arising from CR proton interaction, we find that the volume-averaged value of the CR to thermal pressure ratio in the Coma cluster is about $\sim 2\%$. Our results show that galaxy clusters are likely a new type of GeV gamma-ray sources, and they are probably also giant reservoirs of CR protons.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, Accepted by Physical Review D, more spatial models for the gamma-ray emission are used, systematic checks on the results are adde

Fostering Humane Attitudes Toward Animals : An Educational Camp Experience in China

A program for children overcomes detachment from other living beings

Management and Prognostic Factors for Thyroid Carcinoma Showing Thymus-Like Elements (CASTLE): A Case Series Study

Introduction: This study aims to identify the prognostic factors that influence therapeutic modalities for thyroid carcinoma showing thymus-like elements (CASTLE).Materials and Methods: Reported studies with CASTLE patients published between 2004 and 2018 were retrieved from a cross-database literature search. Three patients treated in our institute were also included as one case series. Standardized data collection was performed; data pertaining to clinical stages, treatment regimens, and survival time were collected and statistically analyzed.Results: Up to 26 case series of CASTLE were selected, including 51 males and 38 females with a median age of 48 years. Follow-up time ranged from 2 to 362 months and the median survival time was 158.03 months. Lymph node metastasis and tumor invasion of adjacent tissue both showed a significant negative effect on survival (p = 0.001 and 0.013, respectively). Radiotherapy significantly improved survival (p = 0.034), while neck dissection significantly prolonged survival only in patients with extrathyroidal extension (p = 0.043).Conclusions: Extrathyroidal infiltration and nodal metastasis are important factors in cancer outcomes. Radiation therapy appears to be important for better outcomes in CASTLE patients, and neck dissection is recommended for patients with extrathyroidal extension