Extension and parameterization of high-order density dependence in Skyrme forces

The three-body force is indispensable in nuclear energy density functionals which leads to a density dependent two-body term in the Hartree-Fock approach. Usually a single factional power of density dependency has been adopted. We consider the possibility of an additional higher-order density dependence in extended Skyrme forces. As a result, new extended Skyrme parametertizations based on the SLy4 force are obtained and the improvements in descriptions of global nuclei have been demonstrated. The higher-order term can also substantially affect nuclear properties in the high density region in general ways.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Electronic band gaps and transport properties in periodically alternating mono- and bi-layer graphene superlattices

We investigate the electronic band structure and transport properties of periodically alternating mono- and bi-layer graphene superlattices (MBLG SLs). In such MBLG SLs, there exists a zero-averaged wave vector (zero-$\overline{k}$) gap that is insensitive to the lattice constant. This zero-$\overline{k}$ gap can be controlled by changing both the ratio of the potential widths and the interlayer coupling coefficient of the bilayer graphene. We also show that there exist extra Dirac points; the conditions for these extra Dirac points are presented analytically. Lastly, we demonstrate that the electronic transport properties and the energy gap of the first two bands in MBLG SLs are tunable through adjustment of the interlayer coupling and the width ratio of the periodic mono- and bi-layer graphene.Comment: More discussion is added and the English is polished. Accepted for publication in EP

Examining how time flies at destinations based on visitors’ perceived consistency of destination experiences

Domestic Chinese tourists traveling to rural destinations in China often face the challenge of local dialects. Based on the theories of flow (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikzentmihaly, 1990; Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2009), individuals’ need for uniqueness (Tian, Bearden, & Hunter, 2001), and confirmation-disconfirmation (Parasuraman et al., 1994), this study explores two main antecedents for visitors’ perceived absorption experiences during visits at destinations (i.e., the sense of immersion and feeling time flies). Specifically, we suggest that visitors are more likely to experience absorption when they have a positive attitude toward the local dialect of the destination as well as perceive the destination to be distinct. In addition, both of these effects are moderated by visitors’ evaluation of their experiences compared to their expectations (perceived consistency of destination of experiences). With a sample of 352 visitors in a rural destination in China, this study provides strong support for these propositions

Meromorphic Solutions of Some Algebraic Differential Equations

By means of the normal family theory, we estimate the growth order of meromorphic solutions of some algebraic differential equations and improve the related results of Barsegian et al. (2002). We also give some examples to show that our results occur in some special cases

Exact Boundary Controller Design for a Kind of Enhanced Oil Recovery Models

The exact boundary controllability of a class of enhanced oil recovery systems is discussed in this paper. With a simple transformation, the enhanced oil recovery model is first affirmed to be neither genuinely nonlinear nor linearly degenerate. It is then shown that the enhanced oil recovery system with nonlinear boundary conditions is exactly boundary controllable by applying a constructed method. Moreover, an interval of the control time is presented to not only give the optimal control time but also show the time for avoiding the blowup of the controllable solution. Finally, an example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed criterion

Benefits and limitations of text messages to stimulate higher learning among community providers: participants’ views of an mHealth intervention to support continuing medical education in Vietnam

BACKGROUND: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2015 to evaluate a mobile continuing medical education (mCME) intervention that provided daily text messages to community-based physicians’ assistants (CBPAs) in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam. Although the intervention failed to improve medical knowledge over a 6-month period, a companion qualitative study provided insights on the views and experiences of intervention participants. METHODS: We conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) among participants randomized to receive text messages containing either simple medical facts or quiz questions. Trained interviewers collected data immediately following the conclusion of the trial in December 2015. Using semi-structured question guides, respondents were queried on their views of the intervention, positive and negative, and perceived impacts of the intervention. During analysis, after learning that the intervention had failed to increase knowledge among participants, we also examined reasons for lack of improvement in medical knowledge. All analyses were performed in NVivo using a thematic approach. RESULTS: A total of 70 CBPAs engaged in one of 8 FGDs or an IDI. One-half were men; average age among all respondents was 40 years. Most (81%) practiced in rural settings and most (51%) focused on general medicine. The mean length of work experience was 3 years. All respondents made positive comments about the intervention; convenience, relevance, and quick feedback (quiz format) were praised. Downsides encompassed lack of depth of information, weak interaction, technology challenges, and challenging/irrelevant messages. Respondents described perceived impacts encompassing increased motivation, knowledge, collegial discussions, Internet use to search for more information, and clinical skills. Overall, they expressed a desire for the intervention to continue and recommended expansion to other medical professionals. Overreliance on the text messages, lack of effective self-study, and technical/language-based barriers may be potential explanations for intervention failure. CONCLUSION: As a form of mCME, daily text messages were well-received by community-level health care providers in Vietnam. This mCME approach appears very promising in low-resource environments or where traditional forms of CME are impractical. Future models might consider enhancements to foster linkages to relevant medical materials, improve interaction with medical experts, and tailor medical content to the daily activities of medical staff

E6 Protein Expressed by High-Risk HPV Activates Super-Enhancers of the EGFR and c-MET Oncogenes by Destabilizing the Histone

The high-risk (HR) human papillomaviruses (HPV) are causative agents of anogenital tract dysplasia and cancers and a fraction of head and neck cancers. The HR HPV E6 oncoprotein possesses canonical oncogenic functions, such as p53 degradation and telomerase activation. It is also capable of stimulating expression of several oncogenes, but the molecular mechanism underlying these events is poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence that HPV16 E6 physically interacts with histone H3K4 demethylase KDM5C, resulting in its degradation in an E3 ligase E6AP- and proteasome-dependent manner. Moreover, we found that HPV16-positive cancer cell lines exhibited lower KDM5C protein levels than HPV-negative cancer cell lines. Restoration of KDM5C significantly suppressed the tumorigenicity of CaSki cells, an HPV16-positive cervical cancer cell line. Whole genome ChIP-seq and RNA-seq results revealed that CaSki cells contained super-enhancers in the proto-oncogenes EGFR and c-MET. Ectopic KDM5C dampened these super-enhancers and reduced the expression of proto-oncogenes. This effect was likely mediated by modulating H3K4me3/H3K4me1 dynamics and decreasing bidirectional enhancer RNA transcription. Depletion of KDM5C or HPV16 E6 expression activated these two super-enhancers. These results illuminate a pivotal relationship between the oncogenic E6 proteins expressed by HR HPV isotypes and epigenetic activation of super-enhancers in the genome that drive expression of key oncogenes like EGFR and c-MET. Significance: This study suggests a novel explanation for why infections with certain HPV isotypes are associated with elevated cancer risk by identifying an epigenetic mechanism through which E6 proteins expressed by those isotypes can drive expression of key oncogenes.</p

Baseline whole-lung CT features deriving from deep learning and radiomics: prediction of benign and malignant pulmonary ground-glass nodules

ObjectiveTo develop and validate the model for predicting benign and malignant ground-glass nodules (GGNs) based on the whole-lung baseline CT features deriving from deep learning and radiomics.MethodsThis retrospective study included 385 GGNs from 3 hospitals, confirmed by pathology. We used 239 GGNs from Hospital 1 as the training and internal validation set; 115 and 31 GGNs from Hospital 2 and Hospital 3 as the external test sets 1 and 2, respectively. An additional 32 stable GGNs from Hospital 3 with more than five years of follow-up were used as the external test set 3. We evaluated clinical and morphological features of GGNs at baseline chest CT and extracted the whole-lung radiomics features simultaneously. Besides, baseline whole-lung CT image features are further assisted and extracted using the convolutional neural network. We used the back-propagation neural network to construct five prediction models based on different collocations of the features used for training. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) was used to compare the prediction performance among the five models. The Delong test was used to compare the differences in AUC between models pairwise.ResultsThe model integrated clinical-morphological features, whole-lung radiomic features, and whole-lung image features (CMRI) performed best among the five models, and achieved the highest AUC in the internal validation set, external test set 1, and external test set 2, which were 0.886 (95% CI: 0.841-0.921), 0.830 (95%CI: 0.749-0.893) and 0.879 (95%CI: 0.712-0.968), respectively. In the above three sets, the differences in AUC between the CMRI model and other models were significant (all P &lt; 0.05). Moreover, the accuracy of the CMRI model in the external test set 3 was 96.88%.ConclusionThe baseline whole-lung CT features were feasible to predict the benign and malignant of GGNs, which is helpful for more refined management of GGNs