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The performance of combining fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) and a high-risk factor questionnaire (HRFQ) in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in economically and medically underserved populations is uncertain. This study investigated the performance of a CRC screening protocol of combining FITs and an HRFQ as primary screening methods in a rural Chinese population. A CRC mass screening was conducted using FITs and an HRFQ as the first and colonoscopy as the second stage of screening in Jiashan, [2007][2008][2009]. The target population was 31,963 residents in three communities. The compliance was 84.7% for HRFQ, 76.4% for FITs, and 78.7% for colonoscopy. The detected rates of cancer, adenoma, nonadenomatous polyps, and advanced neoplasm were 2.7%, 14.8%, 5.9%, and 8.9% by FITs, which were higher than those by HRFQ (0.5%, 9.2%, 4.8%, and 3.8%, respectively). There was no significant difference in detected rate for nonadenomatous polyps between FITs and HRFQ. A total of 41.2% adenomas, 53.2% nonadenomatous polyps, and 29.8% advanced neoplasms were detected by HRFQ but missed by FITs. Positive predictive value of the screening protocol of combining FITs and HRFQ for advanced neoplasm was 5.7%, which was higher than FITs alone. Men had a higher prevalence of advanced neoplasm than women. Results indicate that combining FITs and HRFQ as primary screening methods is an efficient CRC screening strategy in economically and medically underserved populations.

Objectives: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a novel non-invasive therapeutic method, which has been widely applied for the treatment of human oral cancers. However, the problems of undesirable singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) quantum yields and long-term phototoxicity were inevitable during the application of traditional photosensitizers.Therefore, it is necessary to explore novel photosensitizers for the improvement of therapeutic effects. In our study, the sulphur-doped carbon dots (S-CDs) of high yield of singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) were synthesized as a nano-photosensitizer for OSCC to improve the PDT efficacy in clinical practice. Materials and methods:After synthesis of the novel S-CDs, the size, morphologic characteristics, surface potential and yield of singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) were determined.In vitro study was performed to compare the therapeutic effect as well as the biocompatibility of the novel S-CDs to those of 5-ALA. Besides, possible mechanism of action was illustrated.Results: After synthesis of the novel S-CDs, the size, morphologic characteristics, surface potential and yield of singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) were determined. In vitro study was performed to compare the therapeutic effect as well as the biocompatibility of the novel S-CDs to those of 5-ALA. Besides, possible mechanism of action was illustrated.Conclusions: These data from the in vitro study demonstrated the promising safety profile of the low dose (nmol/L) S-CDs, which indicated the novel S-CDs could be used as a promising photodynamic agent for oral cancer therapy.

In this letter, a series of inverse continuous modes for implementing highly efficient broadband power amplifiers (PAs) are proposed. These series of inverse continuous modes are extended from continuous Class-F −1 mode. A broadband PA, which operates across 2.4-3.9 GHz, is designed based on the series of inverse continuous modes (SICMs). The experimental results show that this power amplifier achieve drain efficiency of 62.2%-74.7% in the whole interesting band. The average output power of this designed PA is 11.9 W with average drain efficiency of 68.1%.Index Terms-Broadband, class-F −1 , high efficiency, power amplifier, series of inverse continuous modes.

Erythromycin is a commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotic, but resistance to this antibiotic makes its use less effective. Considerable efforts, beside finding alternatives, are needed to enhance its antimicrobial effect and stability against bacteria. Tetrahedral framework nucleic acids (tFNAs), a novel delivery vehicle with a three-dimensional nanostructure, have been studied as a carrying platform of antineoplastic drugs. In this study, the use of tFNAs in delivering erythromycin into Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) was investigated for the first time. The tFNAs vehicle increased the bacterial uptake of erythromycin and promoted membrane destabilization. Moreover, it increased the permeability of the bacterial cell wall, and reduced drug resistance by improving the movement of the drug across the membrane. The tFNAs-based delivery system enhanced the effects of erythromycin against E. coli . It may therefore provide an effective delivery vehicle for erythromycin in targeting antibiotic-resistant bacteria with thick cell wall.

The overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. There is an urgent need to develop alternative therapeutic strategies to reduce mortality and morbidity related to drug-resistant bacterial infections. Selfsynthesized tetrahedral framework nucleic acids (tFNAs) are used as the drug loading platform to deliver ampicillin to combat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. The results of average dimension, zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy, and ultraviolet spectrophotometry showed that tFNAs-ampicillin combined with a sufficient encapsulation rate and good stability. tFNAs-ampicillin had a better affinity to MRSA than free ampicillin because it had a better uptake by MRSA cells. Additionally, tFNAs-ampicillin had a better antibacterial effect and lower levels of resistance development than free ampicillin. The downregulation of genes related to bacterial cell wall synthesis (murA and murZ) and upregulation of a gene related to antibiotic sensibility (PBP2) were responsible for the enhanced killing effect of tFNAs-ampicillin against MRSA.

Abstract:As the result of climate change and deteriorating global environmental quality, nations are under pressure to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases per unit of GDP. China has announced that it is aiming not only to reduce carbon emission per unit of GDP, but also to consume increased amounts of non-fossil energy. The carbon emission allowance is a new type of financial asset in each Chinese province and city that also affects individual firms. This paper attempts to examine the allocative efficiency of carbon emission reduction and non-fossil energy consumption by employing a zero sum gains data envelopment analysis (ZSG-DEA) model, given the premise of fixed CO 2 emissions as well as non-fossil energy consumption. In making its forecasts, the paper optimizes allocative efficiency in 2020 using 2010 economic and carbon emission data from 30 provinces and cities across China as its baseline. An efficient allocation scheme is achieved for all the provinces and cities using the ZSG-DEA model through five iterative calculations.

In a search for a solution to large-area soft and hard tissue defects, whether or not tissue regeneration or tissue-substitutes transplantation is used, the problems with angiogenesis need to be solved urgently. Thus, a new and efficient proangiogenic approach is needed. Nanoengineering systems have been considered one of the most promising approaches. In this study, we modify the tetrahedral framework nucleic acid (tFNA) for the first time with two different angiogenic DNA aptamers to form aptamer–tFNA nanostructures, tFNA–Apt02 and tFNA–AptVEGF, and the effects of them on angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo are investigated. We develop new nanomaterials for enhancing angiogenesis to solve the problem of tissue engineering vascularization and ischemic diseases. The results of our study confirm that tFNA–Apt02 and tFNA–AptVEGF has a stronger ability to accelerate endothelial cell proliferation and migration, tubule formation, spheroid sprouting, and angiogenesis in vivo. We first demonstrate that the engineered novel tFNA–Apt02 and tFNA–AptVEGF have promoting effects on angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo and provide a theoretical basis and opportunity for their application in tissues engineering vascularization and ischemic diseases.