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Tapered fiber (TF) and D-shaped fiber (DF) are two types of widely investigated devices in facilitating evanescent-field interactions with external materials. Although they have been found to be particularly useful in various ultrafast regimes, to date there is still no clear or systematic investigation on their local nonlinearities as well as the exerted influences on ultrafast behaviors. Herein, we present such thorough investigation through local nonlinearity engineering on TF and then in contrast with a DF as a reference. Optically deposited black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) are used for saturable absorption. The nanometer-scale extremely small sizes of the BPQDs helpfully eliminate size-induced uncertainties or distortions during both device fabrication and the latter light–matter interaction. For the TF, in the experiment, it is found that the local nonlinear effect starts to be rather appreciable as the TF shrinks to a moderate thickness. Remarkably in comparison, the local nonlinearity of the DF itself can even be neglected reasonably, but after coating with BPQDs, it possesses a much larger modulation depth than any of the used BPQDs-coated TFs with different thicknesses/lengths. Further, we theoretically analyze the related locally nonlinear effects and reveal, for the first time, the direct origin of saturable absorption with evanescent-field-based general structures.

With the continuous reform of the education curriculum, the focus of the curriculum is to provide personal and social needs-related knowledge. In the teaching process for this type of knowledge, the cultivation of students' higher-order thinking has aroused widespread concern in the education field. In this paper, CiteSpace and HistCite bibliometric methods are utilized to analyse the higher-order thinking literature in the core collection of Web of Science. Through an analysis of the number of articles, the research topic words and the countries from which the papers were sent, the overall characteristics of international higher-order thinking research are summarized. The primary finding of this research is that the field of higher-order thinking is on the rise. Secondary findings are the focus of higher-order thinking research, which can be divided into four aspects: higher-order thinking ability, instruction of higher-order thinking, the curriculum and sections of higher-order thinking, and higher-order thinking learning. In short, this research helps researchers understand the development of higher-order thinking, provides a theoretical foundation and an entry point for research directions, and not only provides meaningful and valuable references for follow-up related research but also promotes the development of higher-order thinking practice.

Introduction Incomplete hemostasis after vascular cannulation can cause a hematoma or pseudoaneurysm. We hypothesized that a hydrogel-coated needle would effectively and rapidly stop bleeding after vascular cannulation.Methods: A hydrogel composed of sodium alginate, hyaluronic acid, and calcium carbonate was coated onto the surface of suture needles. Needles were observed using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and immunofluorescence. Cannulation was performed in both mouse and rat models; the liver, kidney, jugular vein, inferior vena cava and aorta were punctured using uncoated and hydrogel-coated needles. Needles coated with a hydrogel with and without CD34 antibody were used to puncture the rat jugular vein and aorta. Tissues were examined by histology and immunofluorescence.Results: The hydrogel was successfully coated onto the surface of 22G and 30G needles and confirmed by SEM. Hydrogel-coated needles rapidly stopped bleeding after cannulation of the liver, kidney, jugular vein, inferior vena cava and aorta. Hydrogel-coated needles that contained CD34 antibody attracted vascular progenitor cells near the puncture site; there were fewer M1-type macrophages and more M2-type macrophages.Conclusion: Hydrogel-coated needles can effectively and rapidly stop puncture-site bleeding. The hydrogel that contains CD34 antibody attracted vascular progenitor cells, potentially promoting healing of the site after cannulation. Statement of significance Incomplete hemostasis after vascular cannulation can cause a hematoma or pseudoaneurysm and remains a significant clinical problem. We developed a hydrogel composed of sodium alginate, hyaluronic acid, and calcium carbonate; hydrogel-coated needles effectively and rapidly stopped bleeding after vascular cannulation. Interestingly, the hydrogel can also serve as a carrier for drugs that are delivered to the puncture site during the short time of cannulation that could additionally promote puncture site healing. Hydrogel-coated needles may be a new method for rapid hemostasis with application to patients especially at risk for bleeding.

Purpose Due to the lack of specific and sensitive detection indicators, most patients with GC are already in the advanced stage at the time of diagnosis. Therefore, it is urgent to search for effective diagnostic biomarkers that can be applied in clinic. Materials and Methods We screened out circ_0004771 through circRNA sequencing. Exonuclease digestion assay, agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) and Sanger sequencing verified the potential of circ_0004771 being a biomarker. Additionally, we established quantitative real-time fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to detect the expression level of circ_0004771 and evaluated the methodology. What's more, we collected plasma samples from 120 GC patients, 40 superficial gastritis patients, 20 postoperative GC patients, 20 postoperative recurrence patients and 120 healthy donors. We constructed the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) to appraise its diagnostic efficacy. Results The expression level of circ_0004771 is up-regulated in GC tissues, which is consistent with circRNA sequencing result (P=0.0001). Circ_0004771 can serve as a promising biomarker because of its stable structure and longer half-life. Plasma circ_0004771 expression is markedly richer in GC patients than that in normal people (P

OBJECTIVES: The chemokine ligand (CCL) 21 regulates the maturation, migration, and function of dendritic cells, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma. This study aimed to investigate the association between serum CCL21 levels and asthma control. METHODS: The serum levels of CCL21 and other inflammatory cytokines were analyzed in patients with asthma (n=44) and healthy controls (n=35) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. IgE levels and eosinophil counts were determined by turbidimetric inhibition immunoassay and fully automatic blood analysis, respectively. The Asthma Control Test (ACT) questionnaire was used, and spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) measurements were performed. A multiple unpaired Student’s t-test was performed to analyze the differences in CCL21 and interleukin levels between patients with asthma and healthy controls. The correlation of CCL21 levels with disease severity was evaluated using the Pearson’s rank correlation test. RESULTS: Serum CCL21 levels were lower in patients with asthma (254.78±95.66 pg/mL) than in healthy controls (382.95±87.77 pg/mL) (p

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms are expected to aggregate in specific patterns across different stages of the disease. Here, we studied the clustering of onset symptoms and examined their characteristics, comorbidity patterns and associations with potential risk factors. Methods: Data stem from the Swiss Multiple Sclerosis Registry, a prospective study including 2,063 participants by November 2019. MS onset symptoms were clustered using latent class analysis (LCA). The latent classes were further examined using information on socio-demographic characteristics, MS-related features, potential risk factors, and comorbid diseases. Results: The LCA model with six classes (frequencies ranging from 12 to 24%) was selected for further analyses. The latent classes comprised a multiple symptoms class with high probabilities across several symptoms, contrasting with two classes with solitary onset symptoms: vision problems and paresthesia. Two gait classes emerged between these extremes: the gait-balance class and the gait-paralysis class. The last class was the fatigue-weakness-class, also accompanied by depression symptoms, memory, and gastro-intestinal problems. There was a moderate variation by sex and by MS types. The multiple symptoms class yielded increased comorbidity with other autoimmune disorders. Similar to the fatigue-weakness class, the multiple symptoms class showed associations with angina, skin diseases, migraine, and lifetime prevalence of smoking. Mononucleosis was more frequently reported in the fatigue-weakness and the paresthesia class. Familial aggregation did not differ among the classes. Conclusions: Clustering of MS onset symptoms provides new perspectives on the heterogeneity of MS. The clusters comprise different potential risk factors and comorbidities. They point toward different risk mechanisms., Frontiers in Neurology, 12, ISSN:1664-2295

BackgroundIt has been reported that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can be regarded as a biomarker and had particular clinical significance for early screening and gastric cancer (GC) diagnosis. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether serum HCP5 could be a new diagnostic biomarker.MethodsFiltered out the HCP5 from the GEO database. The specificity of HCP5 was verified by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR), and then the stability of HCP5 was verified by room temperature storage and repeated freeze-thaw experiments. Meanwhile, the accuracy of HCP5 was verified by agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) and Sanger sequencing. Simultaneously, the expression level of serum HCP5 was detected by qRT-PCR in 98 patients with primary gastric cancer, 21 gastritis patients, 82 healthy donors, and multiple cancer types. Then, the methodology analysis was carried on. Moreover, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was used to evaluate its diagnostic efficiency.ResultsqRT-PCR method had good repeatability and stability in detecting HCP5. The expression level of HCP5 in the serum of gastric cancer patients was remarkably higher than that of healthy controls, and it could distinguish gastritis patients from healthy donors. Besides, the expression of HCP5 was increased dramatically in MKN-45 and MGC-803. The FISH assay showed that HCP5 was mainly distributed in the cytoplasm of MKN-45 and BGC-823 cells. When HCP5 was combined with existing tumor markers, the diagnostic efficiency of HCP5 was the best, and the combined diagnosis of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen199 (CA199), and HCP5 can significantly improve the diagnostic sensitivity. Besides, compared with the expression levels of thyroid cancer (THCA), colorectal cancer (CRC), and breast cancer (BRCA), serum HCP5 in gastric cancer was the most specific. Moreover, the high expression of serum HCP5 was related to differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and nerve invasion. The term of serum HCP5 after the operation was significantly lower than that of patients with primary gastric cancer.ConclusionSerum HCP5 can be used as a potential biomarker of non-invasive fluid biopsy, which had a unique value in the early diagnosis, development, and prognosis of gastric cancer.

Background Traumatic experiences tend to be preserved in altered biomarker profiles. These profiles can be traced back from cross-sectional data regarding the age of exposure. Consequently, the change across developmental stages, e.g. from childhood to adulthood, can also be reconstructed. This study introduces a backtrace procedure that is illustrated using white blood cell (WBC) counts in full / partial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The procedure was applied separately on men's and women's data to provide a replication of the analysis based on different subsamples. Methods The analysis was carried out with data from the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus study (N = 5111, 2370 men and 2741 women, age range 35-88 years). It was restricted to traumatic experiences that occurred until the age of 35, i.e., the lower age limit of the sample. The WBC counts from up to two assessments were standardized, pooled and assigned to the reported age of trauma exposure. This resulted in age series for each marker, whereas the reference values were based on subjects who did not experience any trauma exposure. The backtrace procedure ascertained the peaks and troughs of the age series and determined the best-fitting critical age range surrounding each peak or trough based on the best p-value from simple t-tests. Results In CoLaus|PsyCoLaus, 750 participants reported trauma exposure until the age of 35, and 86 (out of 329 ) men and 187 (out of 421) women thereof were coded with a full or partial PTSD. Full / partial PTSD after trauma exposure in childhood was characterized by increased WBC counts (lymphocytes, eosinophils – in women also neutrophils). This pattern was partly retained during adolescence, in men due to eosinophils counts and in women due to lymphocyte counts. For exposure in young adulthood, the deviations were in the negative direction – in men with decreased basophils, in women with decreased lymphocytes and monocytes. Conclusions Summarizing, the backtrace approach revealed WBC profiles in PTSD that were specific to particular developmental age stages. The strongest persistent upregulation of the immune system related to trauma exposure was traceable to childhood / early adolescence both in men and in women. Further research will show which biomarkers are similarly suitable for backtracing as WBC counts. As in PTSD, the backtrace approach could also be applied to identifying persistent biomarker profiles in other mental disorders, as well as autoimmune and other chronic diseases.

The effective treatment of membrane concentrate is a major technical challenge faced by the new coal chemical industry. In this study, a supported perovskite catalyst LaCoO3/X was prepared by a sol–impregnation two-step method. The feasibility of the supported perovskite catalyst LaCoO3/X in the UV-catalytic wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation (UV-CWPO) system for the purification of concentrated liquid of coal chemical wastewater was investigated. The effects of catalyst support, calcination temperature, calcination time, and re-use time on catalytic performance were investigated by batch experiments. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Experimental results showed that the supported perovskite catalyst LaCoO3/CeO2 prepared using CeO2 as support, calcination temperature of 800 °C, and calcination time of 8 h had the best catalytic effect. The catalytic performance of the catalyst remained excellent after seven cycles. The best prepared catalyst was used in UV-CWPO of coal chemical wastewater membrane concentrate. The effects of H2O2 dosage, reaction temperature, reaction pressure, and catalyst dosage on UV-CWPO were determined. Under the conditions of H2O2 dosage of 40 mM, reaction temperature of 120 °C, reaction pressure of 0.5 MPa, catalyst dosage of 1 g/L, pH of 3, and reaction time of 60 min, the removal efficiencies of COD, TOC, and UV254 were 89.7%, 84.6%, and 98.1%, respectively. Under the optimal operating conditions, the oxidized effluent changed from high toxicity to non-toxicity, the BOD5/COD increased from 0.02 to 0.412, and the biodegradability of the oxidized effluent was greatly improved. The catalyst has a simple synthesis procedure, excellent catalytic performance, and great potential in the practical application of coal chemical wastewater treatment.

Objectives Aneurysms are generally the result of dilation of all 3 layers of the vessel wall, and pseudoaneurysms are the result of localized extravasation of blood that is contained by surrounding tissue. Since there is still no recommended protocol to decrease aneurysm formation and progression, we hypothesised that intramural delivery of TGF β1 hydrogel can decrease aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm formation and progression. Materials Male C57BL/6 J mice (12–14 wk), SD rats (200 g) and pig abdominal aortas were used, and hydrogels were fabricated by the interaction of sodium alginate (SA), hyaluronic acid (HA) and CaCO3. Methods A CaCl2 adventitial incubation model in mice and a decellularized human great saphenous vein patch angioplasty model in rats were used. TGF β1 hydrogel was intramurally delivered after CaCl2 incubation in mice; at day 7, the abdomen in some mice was reopened, and TGF β1 hydrogel was injected intramurally into the aorta. In rats, TGF β1 hydrogel was delivered intramurally after patch angioplasty completion. Tissues were harvested at day 14 and analysed by histology and immunohistochemistry staining. The pig aorta was also intramurally injected with hydrogel. Results In mice, rhodamine hydrogel was still found between the medium and adventitia at day 14. In the mouse aneurysm model, there was a thicker wall and smaller amount of elastin breaks in the TGF β1 hydrogel-delivered groups both at day 0 and day 7 after CaCl2 incubation, and there were larger numbers of p-smad2- and TAK1-positive cells in the TGF β1 hydrogel-injected groups. In the rat decellularized human saphenous vein patch pseudoaneurysm model, there was a higher incidence of pseudoaneurysm formation when the patch was decellularized using 3% SDS, and delivery of TGF β1 hydrogel could effectively decrease the formation of pseudoaneurysm formation and increase p-smad2 and TAK1 expression. In pig aortas, hydrogels can be delivered between the medium and adventitia easily and successfully. Conclusions Intramural delivery of TGF β1 hydrogel can effectively decease aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm formation and progression in both mice and rats, and pig aortas can also be successfully intramurally injected with hydrogel. This technique may be a promising drug delivery method and therapeutic choice to decrease aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm formation and progression in the clinic.

Venous neointimal hyperplasia can be a problem after vein interventions. We hypothesized that inhibiting programmed death-1 (PD-1) can decrease venous neointimal hyperplasia in a rat inferior vena cava (IVC) patch venoplasty model. The rats were divided into four groups: the control group was only decellularized without other special treatment; the PD-1 group was injected with a single dose of humanized PD-1 antibody (4 mg/kg); the PD-1 antibody coated patches group; the BMS-1 (a PD-1 small molecular inhibitor) coated patches group (PD-1 inhibitor-1). Patches were implanted to the rat IVC and harvested on day 14 and analyzed. Immunohistochemical analysis showed PD-1-positive cells in the neointima in the human samples. There was high protein expression of PD-1 in the neointima in the rat IVC venoplasty model. PD-1 antibody injection can significantly decrease neointimal thickness (p < 0.0001). PD-1 antibody or BMS-1 was successfully conjugated to the decellularized rat thoracic artery patch by hyaluronic acid with altered morphology and reduced the water contact angle (WCA). Patches coated with humanized PD-1 antibody or BMS-1 both can also decrease neointimal hyperplasia and inflammatory cells infiltration. PD-1-positive cells are present in venous neointima in both human and rat samples. Inhibition of the PD-1 pathway may be a promising therapeutic strategy to inhibit venous neointimal hyperplasia.

Introduction Imperfect hemostasis after arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and arteriovenous graft (AVG) cannulation can cause a hematoma or pseudoaneurysm and leads to poor satisfaction. We hypothesized that a hydrogel-coated needle would effectively and rapidly stop bleeding after vascular cannulation in a rat AVF and AVG model. Method A hydrogel comprised of sodium alginate (SA), hyaluronic acid (HA), and calcium carbonate was coated onto the surface of suture needles using a rotating system. The needles were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and immunofluorescence. Rat AVF with or without renal failure and AVG were punctured using bare and hydrogel-coated needles. The tissues were examined by histology. Result The hydrogel was successfully coated onto the surface of 30 G needles and confirmed by SEM. Hydrogel-coated needles rapidly stopped bleeding after AVF and AVG cannulation in rat. Conclusion In this preliminary animal research, hydrogel-coated needles can stop AVF and AVG puncture-site bleeding; but additional clinical studies are needed to justify whether it is still effective in clinical.

Background COVID-19 patients with comorbidities such as hypertension or heart failure (HF) are associated with poor clinical outcomes. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the critical enzyme for SARS-CoV-2 infection, is broadly expressed in many organs including heart. However, the cellular distribution of ACE2 in the human heart, particularly the failing heart is unknown. Methods We analyzed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data in both normal and failing hearts, and characterized the ACE2 gene expression profile in various cell subsets, especially in cardiomyocyte subsets, as well as its interaction with gene networks relating to various defense and immune responses at the single cell level. Results The results demonstrated that ACE2 is present in cardiomyocytes (CMs), endothelial cells, fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells in the heart, while the number of ACE2-postive (ACE2+) CMs and ACE2 gene expression in these CMs are significantly increased in the failing hearts. Interestingly, both brain natriuretic peptides (BNP) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) are significantly up-regulated in the ACE2+ CMs. Further analysis shows that ANP, BNP and ACE2 may form a negative feedback loop with a group of genes associated with the development of heart failure. To our surprise, we found that genes related to virus entry, virus replication and suppression of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) signaling are all up-regulated in CMs in failing hearts, and the increases were significantly higher in ACE2+ CMs as compared with ACE2 negative (ACE2-) CMs, suggesting that these ACE2+ CMs may be more vulnerable to virus infection. Since ACE2 expression is correlated with BNP expression, we further performed retrospective analysis of the plasma BNP levels and clinic outcome of 91 COVID-19 patients from a single-center. Patients with higher plasma BNP were associated with significantly higher mortality rate and expression levels of inflammatory and infective markers such as procalcitonin and C-reactive protein. Conclusion In the failing heart, the upregulation of ACE2 and virus infection associated genes, as well as the increased expression of ANP and BNP could facilitate SARS-CoV-2 virus entry and replication in these vulnerable cardiomyocyte subsets. These findings may advance our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of myocarditis associated with COVID-19.

Background Dynamic trajectories of psychopathology, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) provide a key to understanding human adjustment processes after trauma exposure. Recent studies have suggested more heterogeneous mental health outcomes than the initially identified four adjustment trajectories. To explore this heterogeneity, we investigated the after-trauma adjustment patterns of psychopathology based on retrospective lifetime data. This was first carried out on the PTSD symptoms (PTSS, including no symptoms, few symptoms, partial and full PTSD), and secondly together with their post-trauma comorbidities. Methods Data of trauma and the post-trauma mental disorders were collected for a large and randomly selected community sample, resulting in a N = 960 trauma-exposed subsample. Pattern recognition as carried out by latent class analysis (LCA) was implemented on this subsample. LCA was first exploited to identify the potential trajectory patterns of PTSS and next to explore the patterns of mental adjustments when additional post-trauma comorbid disorders, such as anxiety, mood and substance use disorders, were assessed. Results Four PTSS trajectory patterns were found, namely resilient, chronic, recovered, and delayed onset, consistent with findings from longitudinal PTSD studies. When post-trauma comorbidities were evaluated, other than the trajectory pattern of delayed onset which retained a low comorbidity profile, the other three split respectively and paired up with either low, moderate or high comorbidity profile. Conclusions Mental health outcomes after trauma exposure were considerably more complex than the four previously established adjustment trajectories. Here, we uncovered additional and more heterogeneous adjustment patterns comprised of PTSS trajectories and post-trauma comorbidity profiles.

sBackgroundCancer patients are considered to be highly susceptible to viral infections, however, the comprehensive features of COVID-19 in these patients remained largely unknown. The present study aimed to assess the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 in a large cohort of cancer patients.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsData of consecutive cancer patients admitted to 33 designated hospitals for COVID-19 in Hubei province, China from December 17, 2019 to March 18, 2020 were retrospectively collected. The follow-up cutoff date was April 02, 2020. The clinical course and survival status of the cancer patients with COVID-19 were measured, and the potential risk factors of severe events and death were assessed through univariable and multivariable analyses.ResultsA total of 283 laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients (50% male; median age, 63.0 years [IQR, 55.0 to 70.0]) with more than 20 cancer types were included. The overall mortality rate was 18% (50/283), and the median hospitalization stay for the survivors was 26 days. Amongst all, 76 (27%) were former cancer patients with curative resections for over five years without recurrence. The current cancer patients exhibited worse outcomes versus former cancer patients (overall survival, HR=2.45, 95%CI 1.10 to 5.44, log-rank p=0.02; mortality rate, 21% vs 9%). Of the 207 current cancer patients, 95 (46%) have received recent anti-tumor treatment, and the highest mortality rate was observed in the patients receiving recent chemotherapy (33%), followed by surgery (26%), other anti-tumor treatments (19%), and no anti-tumor treatment (15%). In addition, a higher mortality rate was observed in patients with lymphohematopoietic malignancies (LHM) (53%, 9/17), and all seven LHM patients with recent chemotherapy died. Multivariable analysis indicated that LHM (p=0.001) was one of the independent factors associating with critical illness or death.ConclusionsThis is the first systematic study comprehensively depicting COVID-19 in a large cancer cohort. Patients with tumors, especially LHM, may have poorer prognosis of COVID-19. Additional cares are warranted and non-emergency anti-tumor treatment should be cautiously used for these patients under the pandemic.

Mitochondria has been a promising target in blood cancer given their unique dependencies on mitochondrial functions compared to normal hematopoietic cells. In line with this concept, we show that an anthelminthic drug ivermectin selectively kills chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells via inducing mitochondrial dysfunctions and oxidative stress. Ivermectin is significantly more effective in inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis in CML cell line K562 and primary CML CD34 than normal bone marrow (NBM) CD34 cells. Ivermectin also augments in vitro and in vivo efficacy of standard CML tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Mechanistically, ivermectin inhibits respiratory complex I activity and suppresses mitochondrial respiration in K562 and CML CD34 cells. Interestingly, we demonstrate that mitochondrial respiration are lower in NBM CD34 compared to malignant CD34 cells. In addition, ivermectin also induces mitochondrial dysfunctions in NBM CD34 cells in a similar manner as in CML CD34 cells whereas NBM CD34 cells are significantly less sensitive to ivermectin than CML CD34 cells. These suggest that NBM CD34 cells are more tolerable to mitochondrial dysfunctions than CML CD34 cells. Consistently, ivermectin induces higher levels of oxidative stress and damage in CML than normal counterparts. Antioxidant NAC rescues ivermectin's effects, confirming oxidative stress as the mechanism of its action in CML. Our work provides the fundamental evidence to repurpose ivermectin for CML treatment. Our work also highlights the therapeutic value of targeting mitochondria respiration in CML.

Based on an efficient and bottom-up synthesis technique, Bismuth Selenide (Bi 2 Se 3 ) nanoplatelets with uniform morphology and average thickness down to 3–7 nm had been fabricated. Its nonlinear absorption property under high power excitation had been well characterized by our Z-scan measurement system at different illumination wavelengths, and we found that the as-fabricated bi-layer Bi 2 Se 3 nanoplatelets show unique nonlinear optical responses, that is, with a saturable optical intensity of 32 GW/cm 2 (resp. 3.7 MW/cm 2 ) and a modulation depth of 88% (resp. 36%) at 800 nm (resp. 1565 nm). By implementing its saturable absorption property, we designed an optical saturable absorber device based on bilayer Bi 2 Se 3 nanoplatelets through deposited them onto the end-facet of optical fiber. The as-fabricated optical saturable absorber device allows for the generation of mode-locking pulses at 1571 nm with pulse duration of 579 fs and a repetition rate of 12.54 MHz at a pump power of 160 mW. The method on fabricating ultrathin Bi 2 Se 3 nanoplatelets may pave a new way to massive production of large-area topological insulator thin films that can be used in two-dimensional layered materials related photonics device.

Objective This study aimed to compare survival and toxicity between induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (IC + CCRT) and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) alone in elderly patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Study Design Propensity-matched analysis of survival and toxicity in a retrospective elderly cohort. Setting Department of Medical Oncology, Jingzhou Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. Subjects and Methods In total, 193 patients with stage III to IVb NPC who were treated with IC + CCRT or CCRT alone were enrolled. A cohort with suitable propensity scores was created (82 patients in the IC + CCRT group and 82 patients in the CCRT group). Survival and toxicity were compared between the 2 groups. Results For the IC + CCRT group and the CCRT group, the 5-year locoregional failure-free survival (LRFFS) rate was 80.4% and 77.2% ( P = .53), the 5-year distant failure-free survival (DFFS) rate was 80% and 76.9% ( P = .517), the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 71.8% and 60.5% ( P = .26), and the 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) rate was 75.3% and 66.7% ( P = .144), respectively. There was a significant difference in the cumulative incidence of all grade 3 to 4 toxicities between the 2 groups (29.9% vs 17.7%, P = 4.8 × 10-6). Conclusions IC + CCRT had a high cumulative incidence of grade 3 to 4 toxicities in elderly patients with advanced NPC, while there were no improvements in 5-year LRFFS rate, DFFS rate, OS rate, or CSS rate between patients who underwent the IC + CCRT vs CCRT alone. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone is still the standard of treatment.

Even though the nonlinear optical effects of solution processed organic–inorganic perovskite films have been studied, the nonlinear optical properties in two-dimensional (2D) perovskites, especially their applications for ultrafast photonics, are largely unexplored. In comparison to bulk perovskite films, 2D perovskite nanosheets with small thicknesses of a few unit cells are more suitable for investigating the intrinsic nonlinear optical properties because bulk recombination of photocarriers and the nonlinear scattering are relatively small. In this research, we systematically investigated the nonlinear optical properties of 2D perovskite nanosheets derived from a combined solution process and vapor phase conversion method. It was found that 2D perovskite nanosheets have stronger saturable absorption properties with large modulation depth and very low saturation intensity compared with those of bulk perovskite films. Using an all dry transfer method, we constructed a new type of saturable absorber device...

// Liyan Jiang 1, * , Xinying Su 2, * , Tianwei Zhang 2 , Xiaolu Yin 2 , Meizhuo Zhang 3 , Haihua Fu 2 , Hulin Han 2 , Yun Sun 2 , Lili Dong 1 , Jialin Qian 1 , Yanhua Xu 4 , Xuan Fu 4 , Paul R. Gavine 2 , Yanbin Zhou 5 , Kun Tian 6 , Jiaqi Huang 7 , Dong Shen 7 , Haiyi Jiang 4 , Yihong Yao 7 , Baohui Han 1 , Yi Gu 2 1 Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China 2 Asia & Emerging Markets, iMed, AstraZeneca, Shanghai, China 3 R&D Information, AstraZeneca, Shanghai, China 4 Global Medicines Development, AstraZeneca, Shanghai, China 5 The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong, China 6 General Hospital of Chengdu Military Region of PLA, Sichuan, China 7 R&D, MedImmune, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA * These authors contributed equally to this study Correspondence to: Yi Gu, email: yigu68@yahoo.com Baohui Han, email: xkyyhan@gmail.com Keywords: PD-L1, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), biomarker, tumor-infiltrating immune cells, oncogenic driver Received: August 02, 2016 Accepted: February 20, 2017 Published: March 01, 2017 ABSTRACT In order to explore the potential patient population who could benefit from anti PD-1/PD-L1 mono or combination therapies, this study aimed to profile a panel of immunotherapy related biomarkers (PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4 and CD8) and targeted therapy biomarkers (EGFR, KRAS, ALK, ROS1 and MET) in NSCLC. Tumor samples from 297 NSCLC patients, including 156 adenocarcinomas (AD) and 129 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), were analyzed using immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridization. 43.1% of NSCLC patients had PD-L1 positive staining on ≥ 5% tumor cells (TC). Furthermore, dual color immunofluorescence revealed that the majority of PD-L1/CD8 dual positive tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) had infiltrated into the tumor core. Finally, combined analysis of all eight biomarkers showed that tumor PD-L1 positivity overlapped with known alterations in NSCLC oncogenic tumor drivers in 26% of SCC and 76% of AD samples. Our illustration of the eight biomarkers’ overlap provides an intuitive overview of NSCLC for personalized therapeutic strategies using anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immune therapies, either as single agents, or in combination with targeted therapies. For the first time, we also report that PD-L1 and CD8 dual positive TILs are predominantly located within the tumor core.

Multi-layer black phosphorus nanosheets (BPs) with different sizes are synthesized by using a basic solvent exfoliation method in association with controlled gradient centrifugation. Size-dependent nonlinear saturable absorption and Kerr nonlinearity as well as ultrafast carrier dynamics of BPs is systematically studied by using a Z-scan and pump–probe technique. Furthermore, an ultrashort pulse with a pulse duration of about 635 fs centered at a wavelength of 1562 nm is generated by using smaller sized BPs as a saturable absorber. These results directly reveal the physical processes of size-dependent nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of BPs and provide researchers with a viable approach in tailoring the NLO response of BPs through controlling the sizes, paving the way towards BP based electronics and optoelectronics applications such as ultrafast optical switches, modulators, fiber lasers, etc.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of endoscopic surgery via a Kocher point approach for intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) caused by thalamic hemorrhage (TH), in comparison with external ventricular drainage (EVD). Between January 2016 and August 2017, a total of 40 patients with IVH caused by TH were enrolled. The patients were assigned to an EVD group and an endoscopic surgery group in a non-randomized manner. The pre-operative characteristics recorded included age, pre-operative Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, hemorrhage volume, length of neuro-intensive care unit stay and Graeb score of IVH. Outcomes included the GCS score at 2 weeks after surgery, 30-day and 90-day mortality rates, modified Rankin scale at 6 months after ictus and ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt rate. The baseline characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. The VP shunt rate in the EVD group was significantly higher compared with that in the endoscopic surgery group (50.0 vs. 15.0%; P=0.02; odds ratio, 5.7). In conclusion, smartphone-assisted endoscopic surgery via Kocher's point is feasible and safe, and significantly reduces permanent shunt dependency for IVH caused by TH.

Cu-Mn-Ce@&gamma, Al2O3 was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation and used to catalyze ozonation in a coal chemical wastewater-biotreated effluent. The preparation factors that considerably affected the catalytic performance of Cu-Mn-Ce@&gamma, Al2O3, specifically metal oxide loading percentage, calcination temperature, and calcination time, were examined. The catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. The optimal catalytic ozonation operating parameters, such as ozone dosage, catalyst dosage, pH, and reaction time, were also investigated. Results showed that an optimized catalyst consisted of 17.0% CuO, 3.0% MnO2, and 2.0% CeO2 (wt.%). The optimal calcination temperature and calcination time were 600 &deg, C and 5 h. The optimal catalytic ozonation operating parameters, including ozone dosage, catalyst dosage, pH, and reaction time, were 7, 80.0 mg/L, 20.0 mg/L, 7 and 50 min, respectively. The COD removal of biotreated effluent increased to 61% under these optimal operating conditions. Meanwhile, ozonation alone resulted in only 20% removal. This work proposes the use of easily available Cu-Mn-Ce@&gamma, Al2O3 catalyst and might drive the advancement of catalytic ozonation for chemical wastewater purification.

Optical tweezers, which exploit laser beams to control various particles, have been widely used in many fields. However, the potential wells are typically symmetrical in optical traps, which limit the performance of manipulating particles. Herein, we report an approach for creating asymmetrical potential wells, by employing variable phase gradient profiles tailored by holograms. The depth, stiffness and location of asymmetrical potential wells can be dynamically and accurately adjusted. Moreover, the controllable collective transport of nanoparticles are experimentally demonstrated as an application example, which exhibit excellent manipulation performance. Importantly, the motion path, step distance and velocity can be easily tuned by changing the holograms, which are highly desirable in the controllable transport. This study offers a new way to optically manipulate particles, which could largely expand the capability of conventional optical tweezers.

In recent years, with the development of robot technology, the application of robot structure with high speed, high precision and high load-to-weight ratio has attracted the attention of industry and aerospace. Due to the increase of the flexibility effect of joints and connecting rods during the movement, the structure is deformed, which reduces the accuracy of task execution. Compared with rigid mechanical arm, flexible mechanical arm has the characteristics of light structure, high ratio of load to dead weight, so it has lower energy consumption, larger operating space and high efficiency, and its response is fast and accurate, and it has many potential advantages, so it occupies a very important position in various application fields. F-POWER flexible prosthesis is a man-machine integrated mechanical device that can be worn by people. It can complete the combination of man and machine, control the mechanical arm by human behavior, and help the disabled to complete daily grasping tasks. It can combine the high load and high precision of the machine with the flexibility and intelligence of the human body. At the same time, using adaptive flexible materials can improve the comfort and stability of the prosthesis. The combination of flexible gripper and mechanical gripper can effectively meet the needs of people with disabilities and reduce the difficulty of operation.

We propose an optical tweezer with tunable potential wells, by dynamically manipulating the phase gradient of light. Using our proposed method to design holograms, we can obtain desirable phase profiles and intensity distributions of optical traps. Optical force arising from phase gradient creates tunable potential wells for versatile optical nanomanipulation, such as trapping nanoparticles in peanut-shaped optical spots, positioning and shifting nanoparticles in optical gears, and controllable transport, as demonstrated in our experiments. The tunable optical tweezer has several merits including flexible design, easy control and high tunability, which provides a new tool for exploring novel functions in optical nanomanipulation.

We have investigated the nonlinear and ultrafast photonics of chemically processed black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) synthesized by the solvothermal treatment approach, with an average lateral size of about 2.48 $\pm$ 0.4 nm. BPQDs exhibit optical saturable absorption measured by the balanced twin-detector measurement system at the telecommunication band and have been demonstrated for the generation of passively mode-locking operation in an erbium-doped fiber laser. Either two-pulse or three-pulse bound state of soliton pulse has been obtained, making the best use of the BPQDs-based saturable absorber. Our work suggests that BPQDs might be developed as an efficient optical saturable absorber for ultrafast photonics applications.

Objective: To compare the treatment effects of mini-implants as anchor units with conventional methods of anchorage reinforcement in maxillary dentoalveolar protrusion patients in terms of skeletal, dental, and soft tissue changes. Materials and Methods: We searched the databases of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, OVIDSP, CBM, VIP, WanFang Data, and CNKI covering December 1966 to March 2016 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials that compared the treatment effects of mini-implants with conventional anchorage reinforcement in maxillary dentoalveolar protrusion patients. Literature filtering, data extraction, and methodological quality evaluation were finished independently by two researchers and disagreements were solved by discussion. Meta-analysis was performed when possible; otherwise descriptive assessment was done. Results: Through a predefined search strategy, we finally included 14 eligible studies. Eight outcomes were evaluated in this study: maxillary incisor retraction, maxillary molar movement, U1-SN, SNA, SN-MP, UL-E Plane, NLA and G-Sn-Pg. Conclusions: Mini-implant anchorage was more effective in retracting the anterior teeth, produced less anchorage loss, and had a greater effect on SN-MP for the high-angle patients than did traditional anchorage. Both mini-implants and traditional anchorage underwent decreases in on U1-SN and SNA. More qualified RCTs are required to make reliable recommendations about the anchorage capacity of mini-implant and traditional anchorage in patients with maxillary dentoalveolar protrusion, especially on the UL-E plane, NLA, and G-Sn-Pg.

Introduction Management of mandibular condylar fractures is difficult in children with their inherently dynamic and unstable deciduous and mixed dentitions. We present a variation of the conservative fixed orthodontic approach that was used as an adjunct to aid in the reduction of a bilateral condylar fracture in a pediatric patient. Methods A boy, aged 10 years 9 months, came with clinical signs and symptoms of mandibular fracture after being involved in a motor vehicle accident. A computed tomography scan showed a vertical fracture on the left condylar head, a displaced fracture of the right condylar neck, and a mandibular symphysis fracture. The patient was treated with an orthodontic fixed appliance instead of an arch bar splint, followed by elastic traction to achieve a proper occlusion and condylar remodeling. Follow-up appointments were made 2 weeks and 1, 2, 20, 37, and 49 months after treatment. Results Clinical recovery was observed 2 months after treatment. At the follow-up appointments at 20, 37, and 49 months, jaw function and occlusal relationship remained stable, and no ankylosis was observed. The computed tomography scans showed that the right condyle had remodeled, and the left condyle exhibited a slight curve in the head at 49 months posttreatment. The patient's satisfaction with these treatment results was high. Conclusions Conservative treatment of a mandibular fracture by fixed orthodontic means is a viable treatment option that is relatively straightforward and cost-effective and has a high level of patient acceptance and comfort.

Ultrasmall black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) with an average size of 2.1 ± 0.9 nm are synthesized by using a solvothermal method in a N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution. Verified by femto-second laser Z-scan measurement, BPQDs exhibit excellent nonlinear optical response with a modulation depth of about 36% and a saturable intensity of about 3.3 GW cm−2. By using BPQDs as optical saturable absorber, the ultrashort pulse with a pulse duration of about 1.08 ps centered at a wavelength of 1567.5 nm is generated in mode-locked fiber laser. These results suggest that BPQDs may be developed as another kind of promising nanomaterial for ultrafast photonics.

Objectives To figure out that if there is a consistency relationship of the BRAFV600E mutation in matched-lymph node metastasis and original papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) specimen for the same patient. Methods We collected the specimen of thyroids and matched-lymph node metastases of PTCs and tested the BRAFV600E mutation status with amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) PCR. Results 20 patients with PTC and metastasis lymph node were hired. In this cohort, 16 (80%) patients had the same BRAF genetic mutation status in thyroid and metastasis, and the other 4 (20%) had an inconsistent situation. Conclusions Within our cohort, the data suggested that wild-type BRAFV600E oncogene in thyroid primary tumor does not rule out its mutation in lymph node metastasis, and vice versa.

Adenomyosis is a pathological gynaecological condition characterized by benign invasion of the endometrium into the myometrium. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is one of the most common therapeutic strategies for the treatment of adenomyosis. However, the efficacy of single HIFU therapy is insufficient for the treatment of patients with adenomyosis. In the present study, the efficacy of HIFU and metformin for the treatment of adenomyosis was analyzed in 274 patients with adenomyosis who were admitted to Jinan Maternity and Child Care Hospital. The results demonstrated that there was a significant reduction in menstrual flow and pain between patients who received HIFU and metformin, and those who received single HIFU treatment (P

Background It is reported that the infant mortality (IM) rate decreased rapidly in China and the life expectancy (LE) also had a high increase. Our objective was to determine the health status of the Chinese population by investigating IM and LE and their inter-relationship. Material/Methods Based on a literature review on the history and current status of IM and LE in China and other major countries, the relationship between IM, LE, and per capita gross national income (GNI) was investigated in 2013. Results The decline in IM from 30% to 15% took China only 7 years, which was faster than in developed countries. The leading causes of infant death in China were perinatal diseases, infectious and parasitic diseases, congenital anomalies, accidents, and signs, symptoms, and ill-defined conditions. Most under-5 mortality occurred during infancy (80%), particularly during the neonatal period (55%). LE was negatively correlated with IM (r=−0.921, P

We conducted a standardized spatial thinking ability test (STAT) to examine the spatial thinking abilities of a group of Chinese undergraduates with a focus on their spatial reasoning, which is a very important component of critical spatial thinking. The college subject of human geography in China is often geared toward the preparation of students for government consultancy and policy-making tasks, known as the &ldquo, tasks leading disciplines&rdquo, (renwu dai xueke), where the pedagogies are problem-solving based and sustainability centered. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has become the universal tool for problem solving in geography and other areas, thus human geography in this situation gives us a context to test and investigate whether and to what extent GIS implementation is able to improve undergraduate spatial thinking levels. Our comparative analysis reported the marginally significant difference of STAT test scores between GIS application (geoinformation group) and its control group (geography group without GIS training). It was also found that the Chinese students performed the spatial reasoning better in this test than American participants as reported in prior study, displaying their higher spatial cognition in terms of problem solving and Boolean logics. Futhermore, a strong negative correlation was reported between STAT test scores and final exam rank. It is possible that the higher geography education in a context of China may not fully embrace the spatial thinking capacity as the strategic goal. The results can help us to better understand the Oriental and Western gaps in higher geography education. Policy suggestions are given in the conclusion.

This paper presents an analytical and numerical model for the prediction of tensile elastic constants of a novel textile structural composite, namely co-woven-knitted fabric (CWKF) composite. Based on the CWKF geometry model previously developed, the direction angles of basic-cells of the weft, warp, and stitch yarn components in a representative volume elementary were determined. The micromechanics method and both isostrain and isostress conditions were applied to the yarn and the pure resin components, and the overall stiffness or compliance matrix of the composite was obtained. The normal elastic constants were calculated and compared with the experimental ones. The results showed that the relative errors between the calculated and the tested values are at an acceptable level (

With the development of economic globalization and the urgent need for outstanding graduates for jobs, how to cultivate integrated talents in private colleges has become an important channel to meet the modern competitive development of economy and society. Due to the limited time of cultivation for talents and the urgency of social demands, there should always be a balance between the cultivation system and the required qualities for talents. Therefore, as the key to the whole system, the quality of talents is directly attached to the development for several industries even for the whole economy. In recent years, private colleges have become one of the most important institutions in cultivating qualified graduates who havebecome an indispensable group of power for economic development. Aimed at a more practical and specific study, this thesis, based on previous researches, is to explore the features of new methods in talents cultivation and to discuss the suitable measures to improve development by analyzing the current situation and existed system both in and out the education system, thus attempting to find out appropriate strategies for future development in talents cultivation system.

Nonlinear and ultrafast photonics of chemically processed black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) are investigated, and BPQDs exhibit optical saturable absorption for generation of either single-state or bound-state soliton, which suggests potential applications for ultrashort photonics.

The deposition rate of μc-Si films was investigated for four excitation frequencies 30, 40, 60, 70 and 80 MHz with other deposition parameters fixed. Deposition rate increases with the increasing of excitation frequency, while Raman crystallinity behaves more complicated. With the optimization of deposition parameters, p-i-n solar cells at an initial efficiency of 5.41% were fabricated. With the increasing of plasma excitation frequency, the non-uniformity of these thin films increases. To better understand the cause of the non-uniformity of these films, a numerical simulation was carried out. The numerical results generally followed the experimental data. It turned out that the standing waves and the evanescent wave guide modes on the electrode surface played an important role. In order to achieve highly uniform thin films, a triode-electrode was employed together with a pulsed power source. We found that with a proper choice of pulse frequency and DC voltage applied to the mesh, non-uniformity is less than 8% for films deposited on 10×10 cm 2 substrates. Simulations were also applied to analyze the results.

Background and aims: to analyze the gender and age differences in the distribution of the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subclasses among the Chinese population, and to clarify the mechanism of these changes. Methods and results: the apoA-I contents of the plasma HDL subclasses were determined by 2-DE coupled with immunodetection in 324 men (including 186 normolipidemic subjects) and 186 women (including 114 normolipidemic subjects). The contents of preβ1-HDL and HDL3 (HDL3c, HDL3b, HDL3a) were significantly lower, whereas the contents of HDL2a and HDL2b were higher for women than for men in the

Introduction: The objectives of this study were to develop an intraoral intermaxillary Class III magnetic orthopedic appliance (MOA-III), to investigate the influence of Class III orthopedic forces on the craniofacial sutures of rhesus monkeys, and to elucidate the mechanism of Class III malocclusion orthopedic treatment. Methods: Six male rhesus monkeys in the mixed-dentition stage were divided into 3 groups of 2 each: a 90-day experimental group, a 45-day experimental group, and a control group. Six craniofacial sutures were observed. The experimental monkeys received heavy forces (300 g) per side initially, created by opposing Nd2Fe14B magnetic units in a cast MOA-III. The control groups received no treatment. Before the appliances were inserted, metal implants were placed in each animal as bone markers for direct measurement. To determine the rate of bone apposition, each animal was injected with fluorescent dyes intravenously before and during the experimental period. Intraoral photographs, dental casts, and cephalometric radiographs of each animal were obtained at the beginning and end of the experiment. Results: Distances between metal implants on both sides of the sutures were enlarged in the experimental groups. Cephalometric analysis showed that the treatment effects of MOA-III are a combination of skeletal and dental changes in the maxilla and the mandible. Distinct changes from physiologic growth remodeling were observed in some sutures but not in the control groups. No inflammation was noted in either experimental or control monkeys. Conclusions: The MOA-III can be an efficient intraoral appliance to treat Class III malocclusion that is caused by a deficient maxilla; heavy orthopedic forces (300 g per side) are safe and effective in the rhesus monkey.

Alterations in plasma lipid levels can influence the composition, content, and distribution of plasma lipoprotein subclasses that effect atherosclerosis risk. Hypercholesterolemia and combined hyperlipidemia are common forms of atherogenic dyslipoproteinemia. This study evaluates the alterations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subclasses in hypercholesterolemic and combined hyperlipidemic subjects.Apolipoprotein A-I contents of plasma HDL subclasses were quantitated by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis in 242 normolipidemic subjects, 66 hypercholesterolemic subjects and 59 combined hyperlipidemic subjects.Compared with the normolipidemic subjects, apolipoprotein A-I contents of small-sized pre-beta1-HDL, HDL3c, HDL3b and HDL3a were significantly higher in both hypercholesterolemic subjects (p.01, p.05, p.01 and p.05, respectively) and combined hyperlipidemic subjects (p.01, p.05, p.01 and p.01, respectively). In contrast, apolipoprotein A-I contents of large-sized HDL2a and HDL2b were significantly lower in hypercholesterolemic subjects (p.05 and p.01, respectively) as well as combined hyperlipidemic subjects (p.01 and p.01, respectively). In addition, pre-beta1-HDL increased significantly (p.05) while HDL2a and HDL2b decreased significantly (p.05 and p.01, respectively) in combined hyperlipidemic group versus hypercholesterolemic subjects. With the elevation of triglyceride levels, pre-beta1-HDL, and HDL3a increased successively, however, HDL2a and HDL2b decreased successively in subjects with total cholesterol levels greater than 240 mg/dl.The particle size of HDL shifted towards smaller size in hypercholesterolemic subjects, and that the shift was more prominent in combined hyperlipidemic subjects. The alternations mentioned above indicate that HDL maturation might be abnormal, and reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) might be weakened.

Background To elucidate the relationship between the apolipoproteins, especially apoA-I and the alteration of HDL subclasses in hyperlipidemic, HTC and HTG subjects. Methods ApoA-I contents of plasma HDL subclasses were quantitated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with immunodetection in 233 normolipidemic subjects and 312 hyperlipidemic subjects (132 HTC and 180 HTG subjects). Making use of the mean ± 1 SD of apoA-I levels, we further subdivided normolipidemic, hyperlipidemic, HTC and HTG subjects into 3 subgroups, respectively. Results Subjects in the middle and low apoA-I subgroups had decreased HDL-C and apoA-I while increased TG, apoB100, apoCII, apoCIII and apoE concentrations. With the reduction of apoA-I concentrations, the apoA-I contents of all HDL subclasses decreased successively and significantly. The relative percentage of small-sized HDL increased significantly while those of large-sized HDL2a, HDL2b decreased significantly in hyperlipidemic, especially in HTG group. Multiple liner regression result revealed that apoA-I was positively and significantly correlated with all HDL subclasses and apoA-I level influenced the distribution of HDL subclasses powerfully in hyperlipidemic subjects. Conclusions Both the rate and efficiency of RCT might be weakened more seriously in hyperlipidemic, especially in HTG subjects with low apoA-I levels. ApoA-I level might be a powerful factor correlated with the distributions of HDL subclasses.