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Infection by Sclerotium rolfsii will cause serious disease and lead to significant economic losses in chili pepper. In this study, the response of pepper during S. rolfsii infection was explored by electron microscopy, physiological determination and integrated proteome and metabolome analyses. Our results showed that the stomata of pepper stems were important portals for S. rolfsii infection. The plant cell morphology was significantly changed at the time of the fungal hyphae just contacting (T1) or surrounding (T2) the pepper. The chlorophyll, carotenoid, and MDA contents and the activities of POD, SOD, and CAT were markedly upregulated at T1 and T2. Approximately 4129 proteins and 823 metabolites were clearly identified in proteome and metabolome analyses, respectively. A change in 396 proteins and 54 metabolites in pepper stem tissues was observed at T1 compared with 438 proteins and 53 metabolites at T2. The proteins and metabolites related to photosynthesis and antioxidant systems in chloroplasts and mitochondria were disproportionally affected by S. rolfsii infection, impacting carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. This study provided new insights into the response mechanism in pepper stems during S. rolfsii infection, which can guide future work on fungal disease resistance breeding in pepper.

Pyroptosis is an inflammation-triggered cell death caused by certain inflammasomes, and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are related to cell pyroptosis. This study evaluated the mechanism of lncRNA nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced trophoblastic cells pyroptosis. HTR-8/Svneo trophoblastic cells were treated with LPS. The expression of lncRNA NEAT1 was decreased using siRNAs, followed by the evaluation of cell proliferation, Caspase-1 activity, levels of Cleaved Caspase-1 and gasdermin D-N, and the concentrations of Interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. We found that LPS promoted the pyroptosis of HTR-8/Svneo cells, and lncRNA NEAT1 was highly expressed in LPS-treated HTR-8/Svneo cells while silencing lncRNA NEAT1 inhibited LPS-induced trophoblastic cells pyroptosis. The subcellular localization of lncRNA NEAT1 was detected. Dual-luciferase gene experiment and RNA pull-down assay detected that lncRNA NEAT1 bound to miR-302b-3p and could inhibit miR-302b-3p, and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was the target gene of miR-302b-3p. Then, a joint experiment was designed for detection, which found that miR-302b-3p downregulation partially reversed the inhibition of silencing lncRNA NEAT1 on LPS-induced trophoblastic cells pyroptosis and overexpression of TLR4 annulled the inhibition of silencing lncRNA NEAT1 on LPS-induced trophoblastic cells pyroptosis. Therefore, lncRNA NEAT1 promoted the transcription of TLR4 by competitively binding to miR-302b-3p, thus promoting LPS-induced trophoblastic cells pyroptosis.

Plasmon-enhanced light-matter interactions have been widely investigated in the past decades. Here, we report surface plasmon-enhanced structural dynamics in multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The optical polarization dependent dynamic properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes are investigated using ultrafast transmission electron microscopy. Lattice contractions in the femtosecond time regime are observed upon excitation of the azimuthal plasmon by light polarized perpendicular to the tubular axis. The polarization dependence of the plasmon near field was examined using photon-induced near-field electron microscopy. The lattice changes resulting from the azimuthal plasmon enhance ultrafast alterations in both localized evanescent fields and the collective charge excitation, which play critical roles governing the light-matter interaction. These results suggest that the ultrafast responses of lattice degrees of freedom in nanomaterials could be essential for understanding the mechanism of surface plasmon enhanced effects.

The phase modulator is a key component in optical communications for its phase modulation functions. In this paper, we numerically demonstrate a variety of ultra-compact high-efficiency graphene phase modulators (GPMs) based on metal–nanoribbon integrated hybrid plasmonic waveguides in the near-infrared region. Benefiting from the good in-plane mode polarization matching and strong hybrid surface plasmon polariton and graphene interaction, the 20 μm-length GPM can achieve excellent phase modulation performance with a good phase and amplitude decoupling effect, a low insertion loss around 0.3 dB/μm, a high modulation efficiency with V π L π of 118.67 V μm at 1.55 μm, which is 1–3 orders improvement compared to the state-of-the-art graphene modulators. Furthermore, it has a wide modulation bandwidth of 67.96 GHz, a low energy consumption of 157.49 fJ/bit, and a wide operating wavelength ranging from 1.3 to 1.8 μm. By reducing the overlap width of the graphene–Al2O3–graphene capacitor, the modulation bandwidth and energy consumption of the modulator can be further improved to 370.36 GHz and 30.22 fJ/bit, respectively. These compact and energy-efficient GPMs may hold a key to various high-speed telecommunications, interconnects, and other graphene-based integrated photonics applications.

Background Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is a major cause of bacterial meningitis, septicemia and pneumonia in children. Inappropriate choice of antibiotic can have important adverse consequences for both the individual and the community. Here, we focused on penicillin/cefotaxime non-susceptibility of S. pneumoniae and evaluated appropriateness of targeted antibiotic therapy for children with IPD (invasive pneumococcal diseases) in China. Methods A multicenter retrospective study was conducted in 14 hospitals from 13 provinces in China. Antibiotics prescription, clinical features and resistance patterns of IPD cases from January 2012 to December 2017 were collected. Appropriateness of targeted antibiotics therapy was assessed. Results 806 IPD cases were collected. The non-susceptibility rates of S. pneumoniae to penicillin and cefotaxime were 40.9% and 20.7% respectively in 492 non-meningitis cases, whereas those were 73.2% and 43.0% respectively in 314 meningitis cases. Carbapenems were used in 21.3% of non-meningitis cases and 42.0% of meningitis cases for targeted therapy. For 390 non-meningitis cases with isolates susceptible to cefotaxime, vancomycin and linezolid were used in 17.9% and 8.7% of cases respectively for targeted therapy. For 179 meningitis cases with isolates susceptible to cefotaxime, vancomycin and linezolid were prescribed in 55.3% and 15.6% of cases respectively. Overall, inappropriate targeted therapies were identified in 361 (44.8%) of 806 IPD cases, including 232 (28.8%) cases with inappropriate use of carbapenems, 169 (21.0%) cases with inappropriate use of vancomycin and 62 (7.7%) cases with inappropriate use of linezolid. Conclusions Antibiotic regimens for IPD definite therapy were often excessive with extensive prescription of carbapenems, vancomycin or linezolid in China. Antimicrobial stewardship programs should be implemented to improve antimicrobial use.

A new approach for synthesizing wideband frequency-invariant (FI)-shaped patterns is presented. This method is a significant extension of the original iterative spatiotemporal Fourier transform (STFT) method that only deals with wideband FI pencil-beam patterns. Based on the original method, the wideband pattern can be regarded as a spatiotemporal spectral distribution, and the relationship between the spatiotemporal spectral distribution and finite-impulse-response (FIR) filter coefficients can be built as an STFT, which can be efficiently calculated by using 2-D fast Fourier transform (2-D-FFT). To achieve desired FI-shaped pattern performance, the spatiotemporal spectral distribution is iteratively adjusted by two new techniques called wideband pattern shaping and linear phase response (LPR)-based modification. Different from the constant phase response (CPR) processing in the original iterative STFT method, the LPR-based modification uses more relaxed phase requirements, thus releasing much more degrees of freedom. Numerical results show that the proposed method is effective even for very complicated pattern requirements, and it is very efficient in terms of both computation and storage. Besides, the proposed method can take into account the effects of frequency-variant antenna element patterns and mutual coupling in the periodic array structure.

This paper provides evidence that external financial status is an important determinant of firms’ responses to trade liberalization. Based on the difference-in-differences (DID) estimation strategy and data from Chinese firms, we find that input tariff reduction has a significantly positive effect on export quality for firms with high credit constraints but has no significant impact on firms with low credit constraints. This finding suggests that trade liberalization leads to the upgrading of export quality by firms that face binding credit constraints. We also find that the quality upgrading of intermediate inputs and the enhancement of productivity can plausibly explain the upgrading of export quality by firms with high credit constraints. Our paper has some important implications for trade and financial policies.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the impact of the sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) on the clinical outcomes in women undergoing artificial insemination by husband intrauterine insemination (AIH-IUI).MethodsIn this retrospective study, the value of sperm DFI was detected by sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) in a semen analysis collected before fertility treatment (basal DFI) in 1,500 IUI cycles at the infertility clinic of Northern Jiangsu People’s Hospital Reproductive Medicine Center from Jan 2016 to April 2021. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to calculate the cut-off value for the clinical outcomes of IUI, including the biochemical pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate, delivery rate, and live birth rate, and multivariate logistic regression was conducted to analyse the risk factors for clinical outcomes after IUI.ResultIn 1,500 IUI cycles, the results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the normal DFI group and the abnormal DFI group in biochemical pregnancy rate (14.41% vs. 11.3%, P = 0.386), clinical pregnancy rate (12.9% vs. 10.5%, P = 0.433), delivery rate (11.0% vs. 8.9%, P = 0.456), live birth rate (10.9% vs. 8.9%, P = 0.484) or pregnancy loss rate (14.6% vs. 15.4%, P = 1.000).ConclusionSperm DFI alone may have limited predictive power for IUI clinical outcomes.

Periodontal and peri-implant diseases are plaque-induced infections with a high prevalence, seriously impairing people's quality of life. The diode laser has long been recommended as adjunctive therapy in treating periodontitis. However, the optimal combination of usage mode (inside or outside periodontal pocket) and application regimen (single or multiple sessions of appointment) has not been described in detail. Meanwhile, probiotic Lactobacillus is regarded as a potential adjuvant in the management of the peri-implant disease. Nonetheless, a detailed protocol for an effective probiotic application is lacking. This article aims to summarize two clinical protocols. For periodontitis, the optimal collaboration of laser usage mode and application regimen was identified. Regarding peri-implant mucositis, a combined therapy containing professional topical use and home administration of probiotic Lactobacillus was established. This updated laser protocol clarifies the relationship between the treatment mode (inside or outside the periodontal pocket) and the number of laser appointments, further refining the existing diode laser therapy. For inside pocket irradiation, a single session of laser treatment is suggested whereas, for outside pocket irradiation, multiple sessions of laser treatment provide better effects. The improved probiotic Lactobacillus therapy resulted in the disappearance of swelling of the peri-implant mucosa, a reduced bleeding on probing (BOP), and an obvious reduction and good control of plaque and pigmentation; however, probing pocket depth (PPD) had limited improvement. The current protocol should be regarded as preliminary and could be further enhanced.

To evaluate the effect of elevated sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) on fresh and frozen embryo transfer cycles.A retrospective study was performed with 549 fresh embryo transfer cycles and 1340 frozen embryo transfer cycles afterThe statistical results of 549 fresh embryo transfer cycles showed that the delivery rate in the normal sperm DFI group (43.9% vs. 27.1%,The increase of sperm DFI significantly reduced the delivery rate of fresh embryo transfer cycles and the biochemical pregnancy rate and clinical pregnancy rate of frozen embryo transfer cycles.

Background Oxidative stress mediated by hyperglycemia damages cell-reparative processes such as mitophagy. Down-regulation of mitophagy is considered to be a susceptible factor for diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. However, the role of mitophagy in DM-associated periodontitis has not been fully elucidated. Apoptosis of human gingival epithelial cells (hGECs) is one of the representative events of DM-associated periodontitis. Thus, this study aimed to investigate PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)-mediated mitophagy activated in the process of high glucose (HG)-induced hGECs apoptosis. Methods For dose–response studies, hGECs were incubated in different concentrations of glucose (5.5, 15, 25, and 50 mmol/L) for 48 h. Then, hGECs were challenged with 25 mmol/L glucose for 12 h and 48 h, respectively. Apoptosis was detected by TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL), caspase 9 and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Subsequently, autophagy was evaluated by estimating P62, LC3 II mRNA levels, LC3 fluorescent puncta and LC3-II/I ratio. Meanwhile, the involvement of PINK1-mediated mitophagy was assessed by qRT-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence. Finally, hGECs were transfected with shPINK1 and analyzed by MMP, caspase 9 and annexin V-FITC apoptosis. Results The number of TUNEL-positive cells and caspase 9 protein were significantly increased in cells challenged with HG (25 mmol/L) for 48 h (HG 48 h). MMP was impaired both at HG 12 h and HG 48 h, but the degree of depolarization was more serious at HG 48 h. The autophagy improved as the amount of LC3 II increased and p62 decreased in HG 12 h. During this process, HG 12 h treatment induced PINK1-mediated mitophagy. PINK1 silencing with HG 12 h resulted in MMP depolarization and cell apoptosis. Conclusions These results suggested that loss of the PINK1 gene may cause mitochondrial dysfunction and increase sensitivity to HG-induced apoptosis of hGECs at the early stage. PINK1 mediated mitophagy attenuates early apoptosis of gingival epithelial cells induced by high glucose.

We demonstrate a new variety of spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) waveguides and notch filters with periodic arrays of ultra-thin metallic meander-strip units for high-efficiency and strong confinement microwave SSPPs transmission and notch rejection. Firstly, the dispersion characteristics of the proposed SSPPs waveguide based on meander-strip units are investigated. The dispersion curve of the proposed waveguide presents a unique negative group velocity characteristic, and the asymptotic frequency greatly reduces to near half as that of SSPP waveguide based on traditional rectangular-grooved units with the same transverse size. To validate the proposed design, an SSPP waveguide prototype is fabricated and tested, showing good lowpass filtering performances with a high transmission coefficient ( $\text {S}21 > {-}1$ dB) and a low reflection coefficient ( $\text {S}11 dB) below the asymptotic frequency of 5.2 GHz. Based on this waveguide structure, a notch filter is designed by loading a split ring resonator (SRR). The transmission coefficient (S21) of this filter is −18 dB at the notch frequency of 2.52 GHz. Furthermore, a PIN diode is integrated into the SRR of the notch filter to make the notch frequency switchable. As the PIN diode turns from the ON state to the OFF state, the notch frequency switches from 2.5 GHz to 3.5 GHz. The proposed waveguides and notch filters with electronically adjustable functionalities may have great potential applications in microwave integrated plasmon circuits and programmable systems.

Two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed at the heterointerface between two oxide insulators hosts plenty of emergent phenomena and provides new opportunities for electronics and photoelectronics. However, despite being long sought after, on-demand properties controlled through a fully optical illumination remain far from being explored. Herein, a giant tunability of the 2DEG at the interface of γ-Al

Invasive Salmonella infections result in a significant burden of disease including morbidity, mortality, and financial cost in many countries. Besides typhoid fever, the clinical impact of non-typhoid Salmonella infections is increasingly recognized with the improvement of laboratory detection capacity and techniques. A retrospective multicenter study was conducted to analyze the clinical profiles and antimicrobial resistance patterns of invasive Salmonella infections in hospitalized children in China during 2016-2018. A total of 130 children with invasive Salmonella infections were included with the median age of 12 months (range: 1-144 months). Seventy-nine percent of cases occurred between May and October. Pneumonia was the most common comorbidity in 33 (25.4%) patients. Meningitis and septic arthritis caused by nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections occurred in 12 (9.2%) patients and 5 (3.8%) patients. Patients 12 months (OR: 16.04) and with septic shock (OR: 23.4), vomit (OR: 13.33), convulsion (OR: 15.86), C-reactive protein (CRP) ≥ 40 g/L (OR: 5.56), and a higher level of procalcitonin (PCT) (OR: 1.05) on admission were statistically associated to an increased risk of developing meningitis. Compared to 114 patients with NTS infections, 16 patients with typhoid fever presented with higher levels of CRP and PCT (P 0.05). The rates of resistance to ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, and ceftriaxone among Salmonella Typhi and NTS isolates were 50% vs 57.3%, 9.1% vs 24.8%, 0% vs 11.2%, and 0% vs 9.9%, respectively. NTS has been the major cause of invasive Salmonella infections in Chinese children and can result in severe diseases. Antimicrobial resistance among NTS was more common.

Oral diseases caused by infectious pathogens raises significant concerns in public health. In the light of side effects of current antibiotics therapy and growing drug resistance of pathogenic bacteria, natural products have become attractive alternatives for antibiotics agents in dental practice. This current study investigated the effects of polysaccharides extracted from Zizyphus jujuba Mill. on three major oral biofilm-forming pathogenic bacteria including caries-inducing Streptococcus mutans, lesions-causing MRSA, and periodontitis-related Porphyromonas gingivalis, as well as general oral microbiota. Our results demonstrated that jujube polysaccharide prepared in this study was mainly composed by galacturonic acid with an average molecular weight 242 kDa, which were further characterized for structural features by FT-IR spectra and NMR spectroscopy analysis. This jujube polysaccharide was shown to exhibit remarkable inhibitory effects against all the tested oral bacterial pathogens through various mechanisms including growth inhibition, biofilm prevention and disruption, intervention of bacterial infection (adhesion and invasion), attenuation of cytotoxicity, modulation of excessive inflammatory response of LPS-stimulated and MRSA-infected macrophages as well as positive regulation of oral microbiota. The present study paves the way to explore jujube polysaccharides for the prevention and treatment of oral infectious diseases. Graphic Abstract.

After the first national-scale outbreak of Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in China, a national surveillance network was established. Here we described the epidemiology and pathogenic profile of HFMD and the impact of EV-A71 vaccination on pathogen spectrum of enteroviruses in the southeastern Chinese city of Nanchang during 2010–2019. A total of 7,951 HFMD cases from sentinel hospitals were included, of which 4,800 EV-positive cases (60.4%) were identified by real-time RT-PCR. During 2010–2012, enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) was the main causative agent of HFMD, causing 63.1% of cases, followed by 19.3% cases associated with coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16). Since 2013, the proportion of other enteroviruses has increased dramatically, with the sub genotype D3 strain of Coxsackievirus A6 (CV-A6) replacing the dominance of EV-A71. These genetically diverse native strains of CV-A6 have co-transmitted and co-evolved in Nanchang. Unlike EV-A71 and CV-A16, most CV-A6 infections were concentrated in autumn and winter. The incidence of EV-A71 infection negatively correlated with EV-A71 vaccination (r = −0.990, p = 0.01). And severe cases sharply declined as the promotion of EV-A71 vaccines. After 2-year implementation of EV-A71 vaccination, EV-A71 is no longer detected from the reported HFMD cases in Nanchang. In conclusion, EV-A71 vaccination changed the pattern of HFMD epidemic, and CV-A6 replaced the dominance of EV-A71 over time.

© 1963-2012 IEEE. Based on transformation optics, a simple and efficient strategy to design 3-D electromagnetic and optical devices is proposed. Using this new method, the materials required are isotropic and free of any singularity or zero value as long as the transformed domains in the virtual and physical spaces are finite. Three electromagnetic devices are designed and illustrated to verify this method. In order to avoid using a magnetic material which is a significant barrier in fabrication, the results are also tested when absorbing the magnetic permeability of the transformed material inside the permittivity. This is the first time to guarantee the obtained materials are all isotropic by transformation optics in 3-D problems. Therefore, the proposed method offers great potential in designing novel 3-D electromagnetic and optical devices, which will make these designed 3-D devices easier to fabricate in practical implementations.

Based on the theory of transformation optics (TO), a new and simple method for generating multimodal orbital angular momentum (OAM) carrying beams in 3-D space is proposed in this letter. The proposed 3-D arbitrary-way multimodal OAM generator only requires an electric dipole as the source. It consists of a four-way plane waves converter and four multimodal OAM generators. Since this method only requires the operation of radial scaling map, different topological charge modes can be easily obtained by appropriately setting the sizes of the physical geometries.

The multilayer surface integral equations (SIEs) for electromagnetic scattering by infinitely long magnetodielectric cylinders with an arbitrary number of layers are derived and solved by the spectral integral method (SIM). Singularity subtraction for the 2-D Green’s function is used to enhance the computation accuracy and achieve exponential convergence. The final matrix equation after discretization is formed in the Fourier spectral domain rather than the spatial domain, which greatly expedites the SIM solution by accelerating the convolution via the fast fourier transform (FFT) algorithm. A recursive method is proposed to solve the spectral integral equations instead of using an iterative method to lower the computation complexity. Numerical examples for ordinary multilayer cylinders and invisibility cloak cylinders are presented to validate the SIM results by comparing the total fields, scattered fields, and radar cross section (RCS) to analytical solutions or finite-element simulations. They verify that the recursive solution has a complexity of $O(MN\log N)$ for an $M$ -layer cylinder with $N$ discrete points on each interface. Meanwhile, the SIM outperforms the analytical method because only the 0th-order and 1st-order special functions (Bessel functions and Hankel functions) are used in the SIM but higher-order functions are necessary for the analytical method to maintain the accuracy.

Background and objective Oxidative stress has been suggested as an important pathogenic factor contributing to chronic periodontitis with diabetes mellitus (CPDM). Previous studies have revealed the potential therapeutic properties of baicalein (BCI) in oxidative stress-related diseases; however, the antioxidant effects of BCI on therapy for individual with CPDM remain largely unexplored. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) plays a critical role in cellular defence against oxidative stress. In this study, we aim to determine whether BCI prevents diabetes-related periodontal tissue destruction by regulating Nrf2 signaling pathway. Material and methods Human gingival epithelial cells (hGECs) were challenged with high glucose (HG, 25 mmol/L) and/or lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 20 µg/mL). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The changes of antioxidant-related genes, including Nrf2, catalase (Cat), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (Gclc), superoxide dismutase 1 (Sod1), and superoxide dismutase 2 (Sod2), were quantified by real-time PCR. The localization of phospho-Nrf2 (pNrf2, S40) in the nucleus was detected by immunofluorescence staining and laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM). PNrf2 and total form of Nrf2 were determined using western blot. The above indicators together with mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were further investigated in hGECs pre-treated with different concentrations of BCI (0.01, 0.1, or 0.5 µg/mL) before stimulated with HG plus LPS (GP). Finally, the role of BCI in activating Nrf2 signaling pathway and relieving the alveolar bone absorption was examined in the CPDM model of Sprague Dawley rats. CPDM rats were oral gavaged with BCI (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg daily). The pNrf2 was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the alveolar bone absorption was examined by microcomputed tomography. Results Our results showed that ROS were significantly increased in both groups of HG and LPS, with the strongest generation in the GP group. In terms of ROS-related gene expression, we found that the mRNA levels of Nrf2, Cat, Gclc, Sod1, and Sod2 were significantly decreased in HG and LPS groups. In consistent with the strongest induction of ROS in GP group, the gene expression in GP group was further decreased as compared to those of HG and LPS groups. Also, the expression of pNrf2 exhibited the same trend with the expression of those antioxidant genes. However, the generation of ROS and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by GP were abolished by pre-treatment with different concentrations of BCI (0.01, 0.1, or 0.5 µg/mL). Interestingly, we observed that BCI promoted the nucleus translocation of pNrf2, as well as the gene expression levels of pNrf2 and its target genes (Cat, Gclc, Sod1, and Sod2). Finally, in the CPDM animal model, we found that BCI (at concentrations: 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) markedly increased the number of pNrf2-positive cells in periodontal tissue and mitigated the alveolar bone loss. Conclusions Our data revealed a potential role for clinic application of BCI under CPDM conditions, suggesting a new therapeutic drug for CPDM patients.

Swift electrons can undergo inelastic interactions not only with electrons but also with near-fields, which may result in an energy loss or gain. Developments in photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM) enable direct imaging of the plasmon near-field distribution with nanometer resolution. Here, we report an analysis of the surface plasmonic near-field structure based on PINEM observations of silver nanowires. Single-photon order-selected electron images revealed the wavelike and banded structure of electric equipotential regions for a confined near-field integral associated with typical absorption of photon quanta (nℏω). Multimodal plasmon oscillations and second-harmonic generation were simultaneously observed, and the polarization dependence of plasmon wavelength and symmetry properties were analyzed. Based on advanced imaging techniques, our work has implications for future studies of the localized-field structures at interfaces and visualization of novel phenomena in nanostructures, nanosensors, and plasmonic devices.

Objectives: Severe and critical hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) patients have an acute onset and poor prognosis. This study intended to establish an appropriate risk prediction model by analyzing the blood biochemical indicators of patients. Methods: A total of 3,204 patients with HFMD were enrolled in this study, including 2,131 mild patients, 962 severe patients, and 111 critical patients. We first analyzed the data of each group through multivariate statistics based on SIMCA-P and screened out the variables that had important contributions to the discrimination of each group. Furthermore, the risk factors and predictors were screened out by comparison with the results of univariate statistical analysis. Finally, binary logistic regression analysis was used to establish a suitable prediction model. Results: With the aggravation of HFMD patients' conditions, the blood content and risk warning ability of seven indicators of SP, DP, NEUT%, TP, GLB, RBP, and Glu were significantly increased. We found for the first time that the more severe the HFMD patients, the lower the levels of Chr, %MRETIC, and %HRETIC in their blood. The average prediction accuracy of the established models for Mild/Severe, Severe/Critical, and Severe/Critical was 82.89, 96.16, and 89.37%, respectively, and the AUROC was 0.8722 (95%CI, 0.8583 - 0.8861), 0.9499 (95%CI, 0.9339 - 0.9659), and 0.7913 (95% CI, 0.7471 - 0.8356), respectively. Conclusions: Multivariate statistical analysis based on SIMCA-P could be used to analyze the clinical data of HFMD patients. Besides, SP, DP, NEUT%, TP, GLB, RBP, and Glu could be used as risk factors for severe and critical HFMD patients. The abnormal changes of Chr, %MRETIC, and %HRETIC reflected the possible damage to bone marrow hematopoietic function in HFMD patients. The predictive model established by us could be used for the differential diagnosis of Mild/Severe, Mild/Critical, and Severe/Critical.

A cyclophosphazene derivative containing multiple cyano groups, denoted as hexa(4-cyanophenoxy)cyclotriphosphazene (CN-CP), was synthesized by a one-step nucleophilic substitution reaction for a phosphorus-nitrogen flame retardant. To meet the strict requirement of safe and environment-protective insulation materials, a series of composites based on low-density polyethylene-poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) containing CN-CP/Mg(OH)2/Al(OH)3 organic-inorganic synergistic flame retardants was fabricated. High-energy electron beam irradiation was subsequently applied to obtain a halogen-free flame-retardant crosslinked system. The relationship between crosslinking degree and irradiation dose was studied, and crosslinking degrees ranging within 63–85% were obtained under 100–190 kGy. Furthermore, the effects of CN-CP filler and irradiation dose on the properties of the composites were carefully investigated. The maximum tensile stress and limiting oxygen index values of most composites irradiated by EB were more than 15 MPa and 28%. Results revealed that the obtained materials had excellent thermal and mechanical, flame-retardant, and insulation properties, thereby suggesting their promising prospects for wire and cable applications.

An aero-engine is a complex system with strong nonlinearity. To improve the performance of aero-engine control systems, this paper proposed to apply reinforcement learning algorithms in the field of the aero-engine control. Aiming at the problem of the aero-engine rotational speed control in the cruise phase, we proposed a deep deterministic policy gradient(DDPG) aero-engine control method. This method achieves the optimal control effect through training and learning four neural networks. The simulations prove that the intelligent control method can improve the response speeds, overshoots, and anti- interference ability compared with the PID controller.

Objective To assess clinical characteristics, outcomes and antimicrobial resistance of invasive Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) infections in Chinese pediatric patients in hospital and community settings. Methods This retrospective study was conducted in the nine tertiary hospitals during 2016–2018. The 324 pediatric inpatients who had KP isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid and had complete medical records reviewed were included. We analyzed the risk factors, outcomes and antimicrobial resistance pattern of KP-infected patients based on comparison between healthcare-associated KP infections (HAI) and community-acquired infections. Results Of the 324 enrolled patients, 275 (84.9%) were clinically defined as HAI, including 175 (63.6%) neonates and 100 (36.4%) aged >28 days. The overall prevalence of CRKP was 38.2% (43.4% in HAI verse 8.7% in CAI, P

A new method to implement transformation optics is proposed. The method is simple but very effective. As long as the transformed regions in the virtual and physical spaces are finite, the material parameters obtained are free of zero or infinite values and can be realized by index-only media. It is the first time that the absence of zero values is guaranteed by the transformation scheme itself. The range for the refractive index is easy to control since the proposed scheme only requires the operation of stretching transformation. The designs of multibeam antennas, which convert the cylindrical waves to plane waves, are illustrated in this paper. The proposed method can be used to achieve many other electromagnetic and optical devices.

A newly designed grounded electrical-source airborne transient electromagnetics (GREATEM) system was introduced recently. Detailed data preprocessing techniques to acquire the high-precision measured magnetic field are discussed here. Different from the previous work in which the reconstruction of the underground structure is performed in 1-D, we interpret the GREATEM data in 3-D by the volume integral equation (VIE) method in the frequency domain. Therefore, the VIE in the forward electromagnetic scattering model is formulated in the low-frequency regime. It is solved by using the stabilized biconjugate gradient fast Fourier transform (BCGS-FFT) method. In the nonlinear inversion, the Born iterative method (BIM) and the conjugate gradient method are adopted to minimize the cost function. A synthetic model of GREATEM survey is used to validate the proposed 3-D forward and inversion algorithms. Then, the field data from two GREATEM surveys are used to test the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed inversion algorithm. The reconstructed conductivity structures are consistent with geological drilling results, confirming the potential of our method for solving the 3-D GREATEM inversion problems in geophysical engineering applications. This paper represents the first application of the BCGS-FFT and BIM algorithms to a GREATEM system.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a significant clinical problem in pediatric practice in China. Surveillance of antibiotic use is one of the cornerstones to assess the quality of antibiotic use and plan and assess the impact of antibiotic stewardship interventions.Methods: We carried out quarterly point prevalence surveys referring to WHO Methodology of Point Prevalence Survey in 16 Chinese general and children’s hospitals in 2019 to assess antibiotic use in pediatric inpatients based on the WHO AWaRe metrics and to detect potential problem areas. Data were retrieved via the hospital information systems on the second Monday of March, June, September and December. Antibiotic prescribing patterns were analyzed across and within diagnostic conditions and ward types according to WHO AWaRe metrics and Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification.Results: A total of 22,327 hospitalized children were sampled, of which 14,757 (66.1%) were prescribed ≥1 antibiotic. Among the 3,936 sampled neonates (≤1 month), 59.2% (n = 2,331) were prescribed ≥1 antibiotic. A high percentage of combination antibiotic therapy was observed in PICUs (78.5%), pediatric medical wards (68.1%) and surgical wards (65.2%). For hospitalized children prescribed ≥1 antibiotic, the most common diagnosis on admission were lower respiratory tract infections (43.2%, n = 6,379). WHO Watch group antibiotics accounted for 70.4% of prescriptions (n = 12,915). The most prescribed antibiotic ATC classes were third-generation cephalosporins (41.9%, n = 7,679), followed by penicillins/β-lactamase inhibitors (16.1%, n = 2,962), macrolides (12.1%, n = 2,214) and carbapenems (7.7%, n = 1,331).Conclusion: Based on these data, overuse of broad-spectrum Watch group antibiotics is common in Chinese pediatric inpatients. Specific interventions in the context of the national antimicrobial stewardship framework should aim to reduce the use of Watch antibiotics and routine surveillance of antibiotic use using WHO AWaRe metrics should be implemented.

Objective: To assess clinical characteristics, outcomes and antimicrobial resistance of invasive Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) infections in Chinese pediatric patients in hospital and community settings.Methods:This retrospective study was conducted in the nine tertiary hospitals during 2016-2018. The eligible pediatric inpatients who had KP isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid and had complete medical records reviewed were included. We compared the clinical characteristics, outcomes and antimicrobial resistance between community-acquired infections (CAI) and healthcare-associated infections (HAI), neonates and children old than 28 days, and carbapenem-resistant KP (CRKP) and carbapenem-sensitive KP (CSKP) infections.Result:In a total of enrolled 324 patients, 275 (84.9%) were clinically defined as HAI; 188 (58.0%) were neonates and 175 (93.5%) were attributable to HAI. The prevalence of CRKP was 35.8% (40.4% in HAI verse 10.2% in CAI, P Conclusions:Most of KP infections were healthcare-associated and the prevalence of invasive CRKP infections was high in pediatric patients in China. The continuous efforts of strengthening infection prevention control interventions are needed to reduce the health burden of severe KP infections in Chinese children.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive endocrine disease characterized by persistent anovulation and hyperandrogenism, affecting approximately 8–10% of women of childbearing age and occupying an important position in the etiology of infertility. There is increasing evidence that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the development of PCOS, but the potential regulatory mechanism is still unclear. This study performed high-throughput lncRNA sequencing of follicular fluid exosomes in non-PCOS infertility patients and PCOS infertility patients. The sequencing results led to the identification of 1,253 upregulated and 613 downregulated lncRNAs from a total of 1,866 detected candidates. There was no significant difference between the PCOS patients and non-PCOS patients in body mass index (BMI) or the fasting blood glucose (FBG) level. However, luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), serum prolactin (PRL), and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels were clearly upregulated in PCOS patients compared to those in non-PCOS patients. There was also an increase in LH/FSH (>2) in the PCOS patients. Functional analysis showed pathways related to endocytosis, the Hippo, the MAPK, and HTLV-1 infection. These results suggest that lncRNAs may play an important role in the pathogenesis of PCOS and may be potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of PCOS.

Myzus persicae (Sulzer), commonly known as the green peach aphid, is a notorious pest that causes substantial losses to a range of crops and can transmit several plant viruses, including potato virus Y (PVY). Chemical insecticides provide only partial control of this pest and their use is not environmentally sustainable. In recent years, many genes related to growth, development, and reproduction have been used as targets for pest control. These include Gustavus (Gus), a highly conserved gene that has been reported to play an essential part in the genesis of germline cells and, hence, in fecundity in the model insect Drosophila melanogaster. We hypothesized that the Gustavus (Gus) gene was a potential target that could be used to regulate the M. persicae population. In this study, we report the first investigation of an ortholog of Gus in M. persicae, designated MpGus, and describe its role in the fecundity of this insect. First, we identified the MpGus mRNA sequence in the M. persicae transcriptome database, verified its identity with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and then evaluated the transcription levels of MpGus in M. persicae nymphs of different instars and tissues with real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). To investigate its role in regulating the fecundity of M. persicae, we used RNA interference (RNAi) to silence the expression of MpGus in adult insects; this resulted in a significant reduction in the number of embryos (50.6%, P < 0.01) and newborn nymphs (55.7%, P < 0.01) in the treated aphids compared with controls. Interestingly, MpGus was also significantly downregulated in aphids fed on tobacco plants that had been pre-infected with PVYN, concomitant with a significant reduction (34.1%, P < 0.01) in M. persicae fecundity. Collectively, these data highlight the important role of MpGus in regulating fecundity in M. persicae and indicate that MpGus is a promising RNAi target gene for control of this pest species.

Background Pediatric bacterial meningitis (PBM) remains a devastating disease that causes substantial neurological morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, there are few large-scale studies on the pathogens causing PBM and their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns in China. The present multicenter survey summarized the features of the etiological agents of PBM and characterized their AMR patterns. Methods Patients diagnosed with PBM were enrolled retrospectively at 13 children’s hospitals in China from 2016 to 2018 and were screened based on a review of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) microbiology results. Demographic characteristics, the causative organisms and their AMR patterns were systematically analyzed. Results Overall, 1193 CSF bacterial isolates from 1142 patients with PBM were obtained. The three leading pathogens causing PBM were Staphylococcus epidermidis (16.5%), Escherichia coli (12.4%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (10.6%). In infants under 3 months of age, the top 3 pathogens were E. coli (116/523; 22.2%), Enterococcus faecium (75/523; 14.3%), and S. epidermidis (57/523; 10.9%). However, in children more than 3 months of age, the top 3 pathogens were S. epidermidis (140/670; 20.9%), S. pneumoniae (117/670; 17.5%), and Staphylococcus hominis (57/670; 8.5%). More than 93.0% of E. coli isolates were sensitive to cefoxitin, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoperazone/sulbactam, amikacin and carbapenems, and the resistance rates to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime and ceftazidime were 49.4%, 49.2% and 26.4%, respectively. From 2016 to 2018, the proportion of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus isolates (MRCoNS) declined from 80.5 to 72.3%, and the frequency of penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae isolates increased from 75.0 to 87.5%. The proportion of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli fluctuated between 44.4 and 49.2%, and the detection rate of ESBL production in Klebsiella pneumoniae ranged from 55.6 to 88.9%. The resistance of E. coli strains to carbapenems was 5.0%, but the overall prevalence of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKP) was high (54.5%). Conclusions S. epidermidis, E. coli and S. pneumoniae were the predominant pathogens causing PBM in Chinese patients. The distribution of PBM causative organisms varied by age. The resistance of CoNS to methicillin and the high incidence of ESBL production among E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates were concerning. CRKP poses a critical challenge for the treatment of PBM.

The microstructure of quasi-one-dimensional KCr

Background: Bacterial meningitis (BM) remains a devastating disease in children, and it causes substantial neurological morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, there are few large-scale studies on the pathogens causing pediatric bacterial meningitis (PBM) and their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns in China. The present multicenter survey summarized the features of the etiologies of BM in children and characterized their AMR patterns.Methods: Data from 1193 cerebrospinal fluid bacterial isolates from children with BM who were admitted to 13 children’s hospitals in China from 2016 to 2018 were analyzed retrospectively.Results: Of the 1142 patients with PBM, 65.9% (753) were less than 1 year old, and more than two-fifths (513, 44.9%) were younger than 3 months. The three leading pathogens causing PBM were Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) (16.5%), Escherichia coli (E. coli) (12.4%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) (10.6%). Infants under 3 months of age were at a relatively high risk of infection by E. coli (116/523; 22.2%), Enterococcus faecium (75/523; 14.3%), S. epidermidis (57/523; 10.9%), and Group B Streptococcus (55/523, 10.5%). However, Children more than 3 months of age were at a relatively high risk of infection by S. epidermidis (140/670; 20.9%), S. pneumoniae (117/670; 17.5%), and Staphylococcus hominis (57/670; 8.5%). Greater than 93.0% of E. coli isolates were sensitive to cefoxitin, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoperazone/sulbactam, amikacin and carbapenems, and the resistance rates to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime and ceftazidime were 49.4%, 49.2% and 26.4%, respectively. From 2016 to 2018, the proportion of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (MRCoNS) isolates declined from 80.5% to 72.3%, and the frequency of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) isolates increased from 75.0% to 87.5%. The proportion of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli fluctuated between 44.4% and 49.2%, and the detection rate of ESBL production in Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) ranged from 55.6% to 88.9%. The resistance of E. coli strains to carbapenems was 5.0%, but the overall prevalence of carbapenem-resistant (CR) K. pneumoniae was high (54.5%).Conclusions: The resistance of CoNS to methicillin and the high incidence of ESBL production in Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae pose a critical challenge to infection control. Carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates are a serious issue for the treatment of children with PBM.

Myzus persicae (Sulzer), commonly known as the green peach aphid, is a notorious pest that causes substantial losses to a range of crops and can transmit several plant viruses, including potato virus Y (PVY). Chemical insecticides provide only partial control of this pest and their use is not environmentally sustainable. In recent years, many genes related to growth, development, and reproduction have been used as targets for pest control. These include Gustavus (Gus), a highly conserved gene that has been reported to play an essential part in the genesis of germline cells and, hence, in fecundity in the model insect Drosophila melanogaster. We hypothesized that the Gustavus (Gus) gene was a potential target that could be used to regulate the M. persicae population. In this study, we report the first investigation of an ortholog of Gus in M. persicae, designated MpGus, and describe its role in the fecundity of this insect. First, we identified the MpGus mRNA sequence in the M. persicae transcriptome database, verified its identity with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and then evaluated the transcription levels of MpGus in M. persicae nymphs of different instars and tissues with real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). To investigate its role in regulating the fecundity of M. persicae, we used RNA interference (RNAi) to silence the expression of MpGus in adult insects; this resulted in a significant reduction in the number of embryos (50.6%, P < 0.01) and newborn nymphs (55.7%, P < 0.01) in the treated aphids compared with controls. Interestingly, MpGus was also significantly downregulated in aphids fed on tobacco plants that had been pre-infected with PVYN, concomitant with a significant reduction (34.1%, P < 0.01) in M. persicae fecundity. Collectively, these data highlight the important role of MpGus in regulating fecundity in M. persicae and indicate that MpGus is a promising RNAi target gene for control of this pest species.

Objectives Diabetes aggravates the risk and severity of periodontitis, but the specific mechanism remains confused. Complement 3 (C3) is closely related to complications of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). In the present study, we concentrated on whether C3 mediates the development of periodontitis in T2DM. Materials and Methods Levels of C3 in blood and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients were measured first. A C3‐knockout diabetic mouse model was established, real‐time PCR, Western blotting and histological investigation were performed to evaluate the progress of periodontitis. Microcomputed tomography (micro‐CT) and TRAP staining were performed to detect alveolar bone resorption. Immunofluorescence was performed to detect polarization of macrophages. Results Our data showed that C3 levels were elevated in the blood and GCF of T2DM patients compared with non‐diabetic individuals. Increased C3 was closely related to the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)‐1, IL‐6 and tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), as well as the decline of the bone volume density (BMD) and bone volume over total volume (BV/TV) of the alveolar bones in diabetic mice. The deletion of C3 inhibited inflammatory cytokines and rescued the decreased BMD and BV/TV of the alveolar bones. C3‐mediated polarization of macrophages was responsible for the damage. Conclusion T2DM‐related upregulation of C3 contributes to the development of periodontitis by promoting macrophages M1 polarization and inhibiting M2 polarization, triggering a pro‐inflammatory effect on periodontal tissues., T2DM led to an increase in C3 levels, which affected the macrophages in periodontal tissues by promoting macrophages to polarize to M1 and inhibiting M2 polarization, thus triggering a pro‐inflammatory effect on periodontal tissues. C3‐related osteoclasts increase potentially promoted alveolar bone resorption.