Grayscale-patterned integrated multilayer-metal-dielectric microcavities for on-chip multi/hyperspectral imaging in the extended visible bandwidth.

Pixelated filter arrays of Fabry-Perot (FP) cavities are widely integrated with photodetectors to achieve a WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") on-chip spectral measurements. However, FP-filter-based spectral sensors typically have a trade-off between their spectral resolution and working bandwidth due to design limitations of conventional metal or dielectric multilayer microcavities. Here, we propose a new idea of integrated color filter arrays (CFAs) consisting of multilayer metal-dielectric-mirror FP microcavities that, enable a hyperspectral resolution over an extended visible bandwidth (∼300 nm). By introducing another two dielectric layers on the metallic film, the broadband reflectance of the FP-cavity mirror was greatly enhanced, accompanied by as-flat-as-possible reflection-phase dispersion. This resulted in balanced spectral resolution (∼10 nm) and spectral bandwidth from 450 nm to 750 nm. In the experiment, we used a one-step rapid manufacturing process by using grayscale e-beam lithography. A 16-channel (4 × 4) CFA was fabricated and demonstrated on-chip spectral imaging with a CMOS sensor and an impressive identification capability. Our results provide an attractive method for developing high-performance spectral sensors and have potential commercial applications by extending the utility of low-cost manufacturing process.

Design of Far-Infrared High-Efficiency Polarization-Independent Retroreflective Metasurfaces.

Retroreflective gratings serve as fundamental optical elements in nanophotonics, with polarization-independent diffraction efficiency being one of the critical parameters for assessing their performance. In the far-infrared spectral range, traditional retroreflective gratings typically refer to metal echelette gratings, but their diffraction efficiency cannot approach 100% due to metal absorption. In the visible and near-infrared spectral ranges, metal echelette gratings have gradually been replaced by all-dielectric metasurfaces because dielectric materials exhibit negligible absorption at specific wavelengths. However, there is still a lack of relevant research in the far-infrared range, mainly due to the weak control capability of the existing devices over the polarization-independent phase. Here, we propose a kind of all-dielectric retroreflective metasurface composed of asymmetric pillars and freely tunable aperiodic multilayer films. The pillar structure can achieve polarization insensitivity, and the insufficient modulation capability of the dielectric materials can be compensated for by aperiodic Ge/ZnS films. The designed metasurface achieves the diffraction efficiency by RCWA, with the maximum larger than 99% and the overall reaching 95% (9.3-9.6 µm). We have provided detailed explanations of the design methodology and fabrication process. Our work lays the groundwork for further exploration and application of far-infrared lasers.

Associations of parental reproductive age and elevated blood pressure in offspring: An observational study.

Background: Increased parental reproductive age has been a social trend around the world, and elevated blood pressure in children leads to an approximately two-fold increased risk of hypertension in adulthood. Aim of this study is to assess the associations of parental reproductive age with the risk of elevated blood pressure in offspring, and to explore the influence of offspring lifestyle on the associations. Methods: Data was obtained from a national school program conducted in 7 Chinese provinces, and the final sample was 39,190 students aged 7-18 years. Anthropometric measurements and questionnaires were designed to collect data of children blood pressure and information respectively. Results: In this study, 26.7% of children were defined as elevated blood pressure. A U-shaped pattern was observed in the relationship between maternal age and risk of elevated blood pressure, while risk of elevated blood pressure decreased continuously with paternal age increased. After adjustment, offspring of paternal age ≤27 & maternal age ≤26 years and those of paternal age >30 & maternal age >32 years were related to great risk of elevated blood pressure (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.08-1.29, P < 0.001; OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.01-1.38, P < 0.05). When stratified by lifestyle status, significant associations between maternal/paternal age and risk of elevated blood pressure were only observed in those with worse lifestyle behaviors, but not in offspring with healthier lifestyle. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that risk of elevated blood pressure in children is independently related to parental reproductive age, and children maintaining a healthy lifestyle may mitigate the adverse effect.

Exploring the Associations between Single-Child Status and Childhood High Blood Pressure and the Mediation Effect of Lifestyle Behaviors.

Background: This study aimed to assess the association between single-child status and childhood high blood pressure (HBP) and to explore the role of lifestyle behaviors in this relationship. Methods: This study used data from a cross-sectional survey of 50,691 children aged 7~18 years in China. Linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between single-child status and HBP, and interactions between single-child status and lifestyle behaviors were also evaluated. Mediation analysis was conducted to detect the mediation effect of lifestyle behaviors. Results: Of the participants enrolled, 67.2% were single children and 49.4% were girls. Non-single children were associated with a greater risk of HBP, especially in girls (OR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.03~1.19). Meat consumption and sedentary behavior mediated 58.9% of the association between single-child status and HBP (p < 0.01). When stratified by sleeping duration, non-single girls of insufficient sleep and hypersomnia showed a higher risk of HBP (p < 0.05) than single-child peers, but not in those with adequate sleep. Conclusion: Findings suggest that non-single children had an increased risk of HBP, and keeping healthy lifestyle behaviors could help to mitigate the adverse impact in non-single children.

Lifestyle Risk Factors and the Population Attributable Fractions for Overweight and Obesity in Chinese Students of Zhejiang Province.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors and risk of overweight/obesity in Chinese students, and to evaluate the predicting prevalence of overweight if the lifestyle risk factors were removed. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 40,141 students in grade three and above (8-24yrs) in 2019 in Zhejiang Province, China. Physical examination was performed, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect lifestyle information, including dietary behavior, physical activity, TV watching, sleeping, smoking, drinking, and tooth-brushing habits. Logistic regression models were performed to assess the relationship between overweight/obesity and a series of lifestyle factors. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were used to calculate the predicting prevalence of overweight/obesity if lifestyle risk factors were removed. Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity of participants was 25.5% (male 32.3%, female 18.1%). Overweight/obesity were associated with adverse lifestyle factors, such as watch TV ≥1 h/day (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11-1.22), insufficient sleep (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11-1.22), and irregular toothbrushing habits (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.01-1.39). Based on the calculated PAFs, the predicted prevalence of overweight/obesity would decline moderately if lifestyle factors were modified, with the magnitudes of decrease vary by sex, age and residence. Generally, a larger reduction was estimated if the sleeping time was increased and TV time was reduced, with the prevalence of overweight/obesity decreased by 1.1% (95% CI: 0.7, 1.5%) and 0.9% (95% CI: 0.6, 1.2%), respectively. Conclusions: Predicted prevalence of overweight/ obesity in Chinese students may decrease if modifiable lifestyle risk factors were removed. The attributable risk for obesity of lifestyle behaviors varied in age, sex and residence groups. The findings of this study may provide insights for planning and optimizing future obesity intervention endeavors.

Malic enzyme 1 (ME1) is a potential oncogene in gastric cancer cells and is associated with poor survival of gastric cancer patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. However, the mechanisms associated with this disease are still not clear. Malic enzyme 1 (ME1) is a metabolic enzyme that is overexpressed in various cancers. Here, we examined whether it is involved in gastric cancer. METHODS: ME1 expression was knocked down in the gastric cancer cell line SGC7901. Cell growth and migration were measured using a real-time microelectronic cell sensor system. Cell invasion was measured using a Transwell assay. Cell cycle analysis was also performed to examine cell cycle arrest. A gastric cancer tissue microarray of gastric cancer was stained using immunohistochemistry. ME1 expression levels were also statistically analysed. RESULTS: ME1 knockdown in gastric cancer SGC7901 cells significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Cell cycle arrest was induced in the G2 phase. Further, ME1 expression was significantly correlated with gastric cancer patient prognosis based on both univariable and multivariable survival analysis. No significant difference was found between ME1 expression in gastric cancer tissues and that in adjacent tissues. CONCLUSION: Our results provide evidence that ME1 is a key factor for gastric cancer. ME1 might be pro-oncogenic during both the development and migration of gastric cancer; it also might be related to gastric cancer patient survival.

A follow up study on the correlation between sleep duration and body mass index in primary and middle school students in Zhejiang Province from 2017 to 2019 / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand sleep behavior among primary and middle school students and its impact on overweight and obesity changes, to provide evidence for developing obesity prevention and controlling strategies in children and adolescents.@*Methods@#Primary and middle school students from three cities in Zhejiang Province who participated in questionnaire surveys and physical measurements in both 2017 and 2019 were selected. A follow up dataset of 605 students was developed and the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index was analyzed.@*Results@#From 2017 to 2019, BMI Z scores for male and female participants increased by 0.24 and 0.13, respectively. BMI Z scores increased by 0.29 in students of 9-12 years old and increased by 0.11 and 0.25 in urban and rural students, respectively ( P <0.05). The prevalence of insufficient sleep duration increased from 37.0 % to 41.8% simultaneously ( χ 2=3.68, P =0.06). After adjusting for confounding factors, the BMI Z score of students with insufficient sleep was 0.20 higher than those with sufficient sleep duration ( P <0.01). Compared with participants who had sufficient sleep duration from 2017 to 2019, participants whose sleep duration changed from sufficient to insufficient, and those who always had insufficient sleep duration increased by 0.23, respectively ( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#Insufficient sleep duration is a risk factor for obesity. Shortened sleep duration is related to weight gain, and maintaining sufficient sleep duration may reduce the risk of obesity in children and adolescents.

Effectiveness effects of screening elevated blood glucose of pre pubertal children with HbA1c / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the performances of HbA1c when identifying elevated blood glucose among pre pubertal children, and to provide scientific basis for early screening biomarkers of abnormal blood glucose in children.@*Methods@#A total of 1 208 prepubertal children aged 7 to 10 years old in Xiamen were sampled with the cluster sampling method. Fasting venous blood was drawn to measure the level of HbA1c and FPG. According to American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria, participants were divided into normal group, HbA1c abnormal group, FPG abnormal group and combined abnormal group. Partial correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between HbA1c and FPG. The cutoffs of HbA1c were calculated when FPG was 5.6 mmol/L. Receiver operating curve (ROC) was used to judge the performances of HbA1c while screening abnormal blood glucose.@*Results@#With HbA1c, FPG and the combined indicators as the screening criteria, the prevalence of high blood glucose were 2.2%, 4.0%, and 5.8%, respectively. The partial correlation coefficient of FPG and HbA1c was 0.15( P <0.01), and the correlation coefficient in girls( r =0.22) and non overweight group( r =0.16) were higher. The cutoff of HbA1c was 5.15% if FPG was 5.6 mmol/L. Taking the combined indicator as the reference standard, the AUC of FPG was 0.84 (95% CI =0.79-0.90) and the AUC of HbA1c was 0.69 (95% CI =0.63-0.74).@*Conclusion@#There is a low correlation between HbA1c and FPG in pre pubertal children. The performance of HbA1c is different from FPG when used as the indicator to screen children with abnormal blood glucose. It is recommended to use the combined indicator of HbA1c and FPG to screen abnormal blood glucose in prepubertal children.