D-type Minimal Conformal Matter: Quantum Curves, Elliptic Garnier Systems, and the 5d Descendants

We study the quantization of the 6d Seiberg-Witten curve for D-type minimal conformal matter theories compactified on a two-torus. The quantized 6d curve turns out to be a difference equation established via introducing codimension two and four surface defects. We show that, in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit, the 6d partition function with insertions of codimension two and four defects serve as the eigenfunction and eigenvalues of the difference equation, respectively. We further identify the quantum curve of D-type minimal conformal matters with an elliptic Garnier system recently studied in the integrability community. At last, as a concrete consequence of our elliptic quantum curve, we study its RG flows to obtain various quantum curves of 5d ${\rm Sp}(N)+N_f \mathsf{F},N_f\leq 2N+5$ theories.Comment: 36+6 page

Exploiting Data and Human Knowledge for Predicting Wildlife Poaching

Poaching continues to be a significant threat to the conservation of wildlife and the associated ecosystem. Estimating and predicting where the poachers have committed or would commit crimes is essential to more effective allocation of patrolling resources. The real-world data in this domain is often sparse, noisy and incomplete, consisting of a small number of positive data (poaching signs), a large number of negative data with label uncertainty, and an even larger number of unlabeled data. Fortunately, domain experts such as rangers can provide complementary information about poaching activity patterns. However, this kind of human knowledge has rarely been used in previous approaches. In this paper, we contribute new solutions to the predictive analysis of poaching patterns by exploiting both very limited data and human knowledge. We propose an approach to elicit quantitative information from domain experts through a questionnaire built upon a clustering-based division of the conservation area. In addition, we propose algorithms that exploit qualitative and quantitative information provided by the domain experts to augment the dataset and improve learning. In collaboration with World Wild Fund for Nature, we show that incorporating human knowledge leads to better predictions in a conservation area in Northeastern China where the charismatic species is Siberian Tiger. The results show the importance of exploiting human knowledge when learning from limited data.Comment: COMPASS 201

Inhibition of Proliferation of Esophageal Cancer Cells by Fucoidan Based on Nrf2/ROS Signaling Pathway

Objective: To explore the effect of fucoidan on esophageal cancer and analyze its mechanism. Methods: MTT assay was used to analyze the inhibition rate of cell proliferation, Hoechst33258 staining and flow cytometry were used to detect cell apoptosis, and DCFH-DA probe was used to detect ROS level, and Western blot was used to analyze levels of Nrf2, HO-1, NQO-1, Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3, which were used to observe its effects on fucoidan-regulated cell proliferation and Nrf2/ROS signaling pathway. The tumor formation experiment in nude mice verified the effects of fucoidan on tumor weight, tumor volume and levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 in nude mice. Results: The proliferation of ECA109 cells was significantly inhibited by fucoidan from 1 to 16 µg/mL, and the IC50 was 3.26 µg/mL at 48 h. Compared with the control group (0.1%DMSO), ECA109 cells treated with 1, 2, and 4 µg/mL fucoidan showed obvious apoptotic characteristics, such as nuclear condensation, irregular chromatin contraction and apoptotic bodies, which (extremely) significantly promoted the apoptosis of ECA109 cells and significantly down-regulated the expression level of Bcl-2.The expression levels of Bax and Cleaved-caspase-3 were significantly increased, ROS levels were significantly increased, and Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO-1 protein levels were significantly decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). Nrf2 overexpression could significantly down-regulate the inhibitory effect of fucoidan on ECA109 cell proliferation, significantly down-regulate ROS levels, and significantly up-regulate Nrf2, HO-1, NQO-1 protein levels (P<0.05). In vivo experiments showed that 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg of fucoidan significantly inhibited tumor volume and mass, and down-regulated the levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 in tumors (P<0.05). Conclusion: Fucoidan inhibits the proliferation of ECA109 cells and has significant anti-tumor effect on transplanted tumor in vivo, and its mechanism is related to the regulation of Nrf2/ROS signal pathway

Early postoperative calcitonin-to-preoperative calcitonin ratio as a predictive marker for structural recurrence in sporadic medullary thyroid cancer: A retrospective study

BackgroundCalcitonin (Ctn) is widely used as a marker in the diagnosis, prognosis, and postoperative follow-up of patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). The prognostic value of postoperative calcitonin-to-preoperative calcitonin ratio (CR), reflecting the change in Ctn level of response to initial treatment, remains uncertain in long-term disease outcomes. This study aims to determine the cut-off value of CR for predicting structural recurrence and assess the prognostic role of CR in patients with MTC.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed patients with MTC in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) between 2000 and 2022. CR is defined as the ratio of postoperative Ctn level on the day of discharge divided by preoperative Ctn level. In order to determine the optimal cut-off value of CR, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed. We evaluate the effect of CR on recurrence-free survival (RFS) by using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis. Then, a nomogram based on CR was constructed.ResultsIn total, 112 sporadic MTC patients were included in this study. The optimal cut-off value of CR that predicted disease recurrence was 0.125. Patients with CR≥0.125 showed significantly worse RFS than patients with CR &lt;0.125, respectively (3-years RFS rate of 63.1 vs. 94.7%, 5-years RFS rate of 50.7 vs. 90.3%, P &lt; 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, CR was the strongest independent predictor of structural recurrence (HR: 5.050, 95% CI: 2.247–11.349, P &lt;0.001). Tumor size (HR: 1.321, 95% CI: 1.010–1.726, P =0.042), multifocality (HR: 2.258, 95% CI: 1.008–5.058, P =0.048) and metastasized lymph nodes (HR: 3.793, 95% CI: 1.617–8.897, P &lt;0.001) were also independent predictors of structural recurrence. The uncorrected concordance index (c-index) of the nomogram was 0.827 (95% CI, 0.729-0.925) for RFS, and bias-corrected c-index were similar. As compared to TNM stage, the nomogram based on CR provided better discrimination accuracy.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that CR is a strong prognostic marker to predict structural recurrence in patients with sporadic MTC. The nomogram incorporating CR provided useful prediction of RFS for patients with sporadic MTC to provide personalized treatment

Enhanced Osseointegration of Hierarchically Structured Ti Implant with Electrically Bioactive SnO₂-TiO₂ Bilayered Surface

The poor osseointegration of Ti implant significantly compromise its application in load-bearing bone repair and replacement. Electrically bioactive coating inspirited from heterojunction on Ti implant can benefit osseointegration but cannot avoid the stress shielding effect between bone and implant. To resolve this conflict, hierarchically structured Ti implant with electrically bioactive SnO2–TiO2 bilayered surface has been developed to enhance osseointegration. Benefiting from the electric cue offered by the built-in electrical field of SnO2–TiO2 heterojunction and the topographic cue provided by the hierarchical surface structure to bone regeneration, the osteoblastic function of basic multicellular units around the implant is significantly improved. Because the individual TiO2 or SnO2 coating with uniform surface exhibits no electrical bioactivity, the effects of electric and topographic cues to osseointegration have been decoupled via the analysis of in vivo performance for the placed Ti implant with different surfaces. The developed Ti implant shows significantly improved osseointegration with excellent bone–implant contact, improved mineralization of extracellular matrix, and increased push-out force. These results suggest that the synergistic strategy of combing electrical bioactivity with hierarchical surface structure provides a new platform for developing advanced endosseous implants

Multistage Strike-Slip Fault in the Narrowest Portion of the Qinling Orogen, Central China: Deformation Mechanism and Tectonic Significance

The North Huicheng Basin strike-slip fault system is on the northeastern frontier of the Tibetan Plateau and separates the West and East Qinling differential orogeny. However, the deformation mechanism of this strike-slip fault system and its exact tectonic significance are unclear. Here, we carried out systematic field structural analysis, physical analog modeling, and multiproxy geochronological dating to address these issues. The field structural analysis indicates that the North Huicheng Basin strike-slip fault system was induced from the plate-like movement of the West and East Qinling Orogens, which underwent multiple left-lateral strike-slip faulting and controlled salient and recessed structures. The scaled physical analog experiment results confirm this hypothesis and reveal the primary spatial-temporal deformational kinematic process. Combined with published works, multiproxy geochronological dating (zircon U‒Pb age of 213 Ma, biotite 40Ar/39Ar age of 203 Ma, and apatite fission-track age of 56 Ma) outlines the main thermal history of the hanging wall. Based on the above facts, the integrated research suggests that multistage strike-slip faulting played a significant role in the main tectonic events, that is, late Triassic magmatic emplacement, Jurassic/Cretaceous local pull-apart, and Cenozoic rapid exhumation driven by Tibetan Plateau growth