Electro-optic coupling of wide wavelength range in linear chirped-periodically poled lithium niobate and its applications

We theoretically investigate the electro-optic coupling in an optical superlattice of linear chirped-periodically poled lithium niobate. It is found that the electro-optic coupling in such optical superlattice can work in a wide wavelength range. Some of examples, with bandwidths of 20, 40, 80, 120nm, are demonstrated. The way to determine the electric field for perfect conversion between o- and e-ray and the method using apodized crystals of tanh profile to reduce the ripples are shown. As one of its applications, one kind of broadband Solc-type bandpass filter in optical communication range is proposed. (C) 2010 Optical Society of Americ

Pediatric Cushing disease: disparities in disease severity and outcomes in the Hispanic and African-American populations.

BackgroundLittle is known about the contribution of racial and socioeconomic disparities to severity and outcomes in children with Cushing disease (CD).MethodsA total of 129 children with CD, 45 Hispanic/Latino or African-American (HI/AA) and 84 non-Hispanic White (non-HW), were included in this study. A 10-point index for rating severity (CD severity) incorporated the degree of hypercortisolemia, glucose tolerance, hypertension, anthropomorphic measurements, disease duration, and tumor characteristics. Race, ethnicity, age, gender, local obesity prevalence, estimated median income, and access to care were assessed in regression analyses of CD severity.ResultsThe mean CD severity in the HI/AA group was worse than that in the non-HW group (4.9±2.0 vs. 4.1±1.9, P=0.023); driving factors included higher cortisol levels and larger tumor size. Multiple regression models confirmed that race (P=0.027) and older age (P=0.014) were the most important predictors of worse CD severity. When followed up a median of 2.3 years after surgery, the relative risk for persistent CD combined with recurrence was 2.8 times higher in the HI/AA group compared with that in the non-HW group (95% confidence interval: 1.2-6.5).ConclusionOur data show that the driving forces for the discrepancy in severity of CD are older age and race/ethnicity. Importantly, the risk for persistent and recurrent CD was higher in minority children

Situação epidemiológica e a relação com variáveis meteorológicas da HFMD em Guangzhou, sul da China, 2008-2012

A doença de mão-pé-e-boca (HFMD) está se tornando doença extremamente comum transmitida pelo ar e contato em Guangzhou, sul da China, levando preocupação às autoridades de saúde pública acerca da sua incidência aumentada. Neste estudo foi usada parte ecológica e regressão binomial negativa para identificar o status epidêmico da HFMD e sua relação com variáveis meteorológicas. Durante 2008-2012 um total de 173.524 casos confirmados de HFMD foram apresentados, 12 com morte, elevando o índice de fatalidade a 0,69 por 10.000. As incidências anuais de 2008 a 2010 foram 60,56, 132,44, 311,40, 402,76 e 468,59 por 100.000, respectivamente, mostrando tendência de rápido aumento. Cada 1 °C de aumento da temperatura correspondeu a aumento de 9,47% (95% CI 9,36% a 9,58%) no número semanal de casos de HFMD, enquanto a 1 hPa de aumento da pressão atmosférica correspondeu a decréscimo no número de casos de 7,53% (95% CI - 7,60% a - 7,45%). De maneira semelhante cada aumento de 1% na humidade relativa correspondeu a aumento de 1,48% ou 3,3% e a um aumento de 1 metro por hora na velocidade do vento correspondeu a um aumento de 2,18% ou 4,57%, no número de casos semanais de HFMD, dependendo das variáveis consideradas no modelo. Estes achados revelaram que o status epidêmico do HFMD em Guangzhou é caracterizado por alta morbidade, mas baixa fatalidade. Fatores referentes ao tempo tiveram influência significante na incidência do HFMD.Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is becoming one of the extremely common airborne and contact transmission diseases in Guangzhou, southern China, leading public health authorities to be concerned about its increased incidence. In this study, it was used an ecological study plus the negative binomial regression to identify the epidemic status of HFMD and its relationship with meteorological variables. During 2008-2012, a total of 173,524 HFMD confirmed cases were reported, 12 cases of death, yielding a fatality rate of 0.69 per 10,000. The annual incidence rates from 2008 to 2012 were 60.56, 132.44, 311.40, 402.76, and 468.59 (per 100,000), respectively, showing a rapid increasing trend. Each 1 °C rise in temperature corresponded to an increase of 9.47% (95% CI 9.36% to 9.58%) in the weekly number of HFMD cases, while a one hPa rise in atmospheric pressure corresponded to a decrease in the number of cases by 7.53% (95% CI -7.60% to -7.45%). Similarly, each one percent rise in relative humidity corresponded to an increase of 1.48% or 3.3%, and a one meter per hour rise in wind speed corresponded to an increase of 2.18% or 4.57%, in the weekly number of HFMD cases, depending on the variables considered in the model. These findings revealed that epidemic status of HFMD in Guangzhou is characterized by high morbidity but low fatality. Weather factors had a significant influence on the incidence of HFMD

3640 Unique EST Clusters from the Medaka Testis and Their Potential Use for Identifying Conserved Testicular Gene Expression in Fish and Mammals

BACKGROUND: The fish medaka is the first vertebrate capable of full spermatogenesis in vitro from self-renewing spermatogonial stem cells to motile test-tube sperm. Precise staging and molecular dissection of this process has been hampered by the lack of suitable molecular markers. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have generated a normalized medaka testis cDNA library and obtained 7040 high quality sequences representing 3641 unique gene clusters. Among these, 1197 unique clusters are homologous to known genes, and 2444 appear to be novel genes. Ontology analysis shows that the 1197 gene products are implicated in diverse molecular and cellular processes. These genes include markers for all major types of testicular somatic and germ cells. Furthermore, markers were identified for major spermatogenic stages ranging from spermatogonial stem cell self-renewal to meiosis entry, progression and completion. Intriguingly, the medaka testis expresses at least 13 homologs of the 33 mouse X-chromosomal genes that are enriched in the testis. More importantly, we show that key components of several signaling pathways known to be important for testicular function in mammals are well represented in the medaka testicular EST collection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Medaka exhibits a considerable similarity in testicular gene expression to mammals. The medaka testicular EST collection we obtained has wide range coverage and will not only consolidate our knowledge on the comparative analysis of known genes' functions in the testis but also provide a rich resource to dissect molecular events and mechanism of spermatogenesis in vivo and in vitro in medaka as an excellent vertebrate model

MicroRNA profiling of cisplatinresistant oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines enriched withcancer-stem-cell-like and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-type features

Oral cancer is of major public health problem in India. Current investigation was aimed to identify the specific deregulated miRNAs which are responsible for development of resistance phenotype through regulating their resistance related target gene expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Cisplatin-resistant OSCC cell lines were developed from their parental human OSCC cell lines and subsequently characterised. The resistant cells exhibited enhanced proliferative, clonogenic capacity with significant up-regulation of P-glycoprotein (ABCB1), c-Myc, survivin, β-catenin and a putative cancer-stem-like signature with increased expression of CD44, whereas the loss of E-cadherin signifies induced EMT phenotype. A comparative analysis of miRNA expression profiling in parental and cisplatin-resistant OSCC cell lines for a selected sets (deregulated miRNAs in head and neck cancer) revealed resistance specific signature. Moreover, we observed similar expression pattern for these resistance specific signature miRNAs in neoadjuvant chemotherapy treated and recurrent tumours compared to those with newly diagnosed primary tumours in patients with OSCC. All these results revealed that these miRNAs play an important role in the development of cisplatin-resistance mainly through modulating cancer stem-cell-like and EMT-type properties in OSCC

Lack of Association of miR-146a rs2910164 Polymorphism with Gastrointestinal Cancers: Evidence from 10206 Subjects

BACKGROUND: Recent studies on the association between miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and risk of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers showed inconclusive results. Accordingly, we conducted a comprehensive literature search and a meta-analysis to clarify the association. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Data were collected from the following electronic databases: Pubmed, Excerpta Medica Database (Embase), and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), with the last report up to February 24, 2012. The odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used to assess the strength of association. Ultimately, a total of 12 studies (4,817 cases and 5,389 controls) were found to be eligible for meta-analysis. We summarized the data on the association between miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and risk of GI cancers in the overall population, and performed subgroup analyses by ethnicity, cancer types, and quality of studies. In the overall analysis, there was no evidence of association between miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and the risk of GI cancers (G versus C: OR = 1.07, 95%CI 0.98-1.16, P = 0.14; GG+GC versus CC: OR = 1.14, 95%CI 1.00-1.31, P = 0.05; GG versus GC+CC: OR = 1.06, 95%CI 0.91-1.23, P = 0.47; GG versus CC: OR = 1.17, 95%CI 0.95-1.44, P = 0.13; GC versus CC: OR = 1.14, 95%CI 1.00-1.31, P = 0.05). Similar results were found in the subgroup analyses by ethnicity, cancer types, and quality of studies. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This meta-analysis demonstrates that miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism is not associated with GI cancers susceptibility. More well-designed studies based on larger sample sizes and homogeneous cancer patients are needed

Non-Motor and Motor Features in LRRK2 Transgenic Mice

10.1371/journal.pone.0070249PLoS ONE87-POLN

Chinese Herbal Medicines for the Treatment of Type A H1N1 Influenza: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Chinese herbs are thought to be effective for type A H1N1 influenza. Series of Chinese herbs have been authorized recommended by the Chinese government, and until now a number of clinical trials of Chinese herbs for H1N1 influenza have been conducted. However, there is no critically appraised evidence such as systematic reviews or metaanalyses on potential benefits and harms of medicinal herbs for H1N1 influenza to justify their clinical use and their recommendation. CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CBM, CNKI, VIP, China Important Conference Papers Database, China Dissertation Database, and online clinical trial registry websites were searched for published and unpublished randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Chinese herbs for H1N1 influenza till 31 August, 2011. A total of 26 RCTs were identified and reviewed. Most of the RCTs were of high risk of bias with flawed study design and poor methodological quality. The combination of several Chinese herbal medicines with or without oseltamivir demonstrated positive effect on fever resolution, relief of symptoms, and global effectiveness rate compared to oseltamivir alone. However, only one herbal medicine showed positive effect on viral shedding. Most of the trials did not report adverse events, and the safety of herbal medicines is still uncertain. Some Chinese herbal medicines demonstrated potential positive effect for 2009 type A H1N1 influenza; however, due to the lack of placebo controlled trial and lack of repeated test of the intervention, we could not draw confirmative conclusions on the beneficial effect of Chinese herbs for H1N1 influenza. More rigorous trials are warranted to support their clinical use