Density of tertiary lymphoid structures predicts clinical outcome in breast cancer brain metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM) experience a rapid decline in their quality of life. Recently, tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs), analogs of secondary lymphoid organs, have attracted extensive attention. However, the potential clinical implications of TLSs in BCBMs are poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the density and composition of TLSs in BCBMs and described their prognostic value. METHODS: Clinicopathological data were collected from 98 patients (2015-2021). TLSs were evaluated, and a TLS scoring system was constructed. Differences in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between groups were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Immunohistochemistry and multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) were used to assess TLSs heterogeneity. RESULTS: TLSs were identified in 47 patients with BCBM. High TLSs density indicated favorable survival (OS, p=0.003; PFS, p<0.001). TLS was positively associated with OS (p=0.0172) and PFS (p=0.0161) in the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2-positive subtype, and with prolonged OS (p=0.0482) in the triple-negative breast cancer subtype. The mIF results showed significant differences in the percentages of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, M2 macrophages, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and CD8+TIM-3+ T lymphocytes between the groups of TLS scores 0-3 (cytotoxic T lymphocytes, p=0.044; Tfh, p=0.021; M2 macrophages, p=0.033; CD8+TIM-3+ T lymphocytes, p=0.018). Furthermore, novel nomograms incorporating the TLS scores and other clinicopathological predictors demonstrated prominent predictability of the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year outcomes of BCBMs (area under the curve >0.800). CONCLUSION: Our results highlight the impact of TLSs abundance on the OS and PFS of patients with BCBM. Additionally, we described the immune composition of TLSs and proposed novel nomograms to predict the prognosis of patients with BCBM.

Effects of buccal acupuncture on postoperative analgesia in elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of buccal acupuncture on postoperative analgesia, perioperative stress response and adverse events in elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. Methods: It was a prospective, outcome assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial, involving 90 patients aged 65-80 years who were treated with an elective laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. They were randomly assigned to buccal acupuncture group (Group B) and control group (Group C). Buccal acupuncture was applied to patients of Group B before the induction of general anesthesia, while no additional application was given to those in Group C. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) with sufentanil was postoperatively performed in both groups. Sufentanil consumption and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score within 48 h postoperatively were assessed as primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes included peripheral levels of stress markers, intraoperative consumptions of anesthetic drugs and postoperative recovery. Results: Patients in Group B presented significantly lower VAS scores within 24 h and less consumption of sufentanil within 48 h postoperatively (both p < 0.01). The awaking time, time to extubation and length of stay were significantly shorter in Group B than in Group C (p = 0.005, 0.001 and 0.028, respectively). Compared with Group C, stress response and inflammatory response within 24 h postoperatively were also significantly milder in Group B. Conclusion: The use of buccal acupuncture before general anesthesia induction favors the postoperative analgesic effect and recovery in elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy, the mechanism of which involves relieving postoperative stress response and inflammatory response. Clinical trial registration: This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (www.chictr.org.cn) on 15/06/2023 (ChiCTR2300072500).

Vaporchromic Domino Transformation and Polarized Photonic Heterojunctions of Organoplatinum Microrods.

Photonic heterostructures with codable properties have shown great values as versatile information carriers at the micro and nanoscale. These heterostructures are typically prepared by a step-by-step growth or post-functionalization method to achieve varied emission colors among different building blocks. In order to realize high-throughput and multivariate information loading, we report here a strategy to integrate polarization signals into photonic heterojunctions. A U-shaped di-Pt(II) complex is assembled into highly-polarized yellow-phosphorescent crystalline microrods (Y-rod) by strong intermolecular Pt···Pt interaction. Upon end-initiated desorption of the incorporated CH2Cl2 solvents, Y-rod is transformed in a domino fashion into tri-block polarized photonic heterojunctions (PPHs) with alternate red-yellow-red emissions or red-phosphorescent microrods (R-rod). The red emissions of these structures are also highly polarized; however, their polarization directions are just orthogonal to those of the yellow phosphorescence of Y-rod. With the aid of a patterned mask, R-rod is further programmed into multi-block PPHs with precisely-controlled block sizes by side-allowed adsorption of CH2Cl2 vapor. X-ray diffraction analysis and theoretical calculations suggest that the solvent-regulated modulation of intramolecular and intermolecular excited states is critical for the construction of these PPHs.

Hypericum perforatum L. attenuates depression by regulating Akkermansia muciniphila, tryptophan metabolism and NFκB-NLRP2-Caspase1-IL1ß pathway.

BACKGROUND: Gut microbiota dysbiosis significantly contributes to progression of depression. Hypericum perforatum L. (HPL) is traditionally used in Europe for treating depression. However, its mechanism remains largely underexplored. PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the pivotal gut microbiota species and microbial signaling metabolites associated with the antidepressant effects of HPL. METHODS: Fecal microbiota transplantation was used to assess whether HPL mitigates depression through alterations in gut microbiota. Microbiota and metabolic profiling of control, chronic restraint stress (CRS)-induced depression, and HPL-treated CRS mice were examined using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics analysis. The influence of gut microbiota on HPL's antidepressant effects was assessed by metabolite and bacterial intervention experiments. RESULTS: HPL significantly alleviated depression symptoms in a manner dependent on gut microbiota and restored gut microbial composition by enriching Akkermansia muciniphila (AKK). Metabolomic analysis indicated that HPL regulated tryptophan metabolism, reducing kynurenine (KYN) levels derived from microbiota and increasing 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) levels. Notably, supplementation with KYN activated the NFκB-NLRP2-Caspase1-IL1ß pathway and increased proinflammatory IL1ß in the hippocampus of mice with depression. Interestingly, mono-colonization with AKK notably increased 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and decreased KYN levels, ameliorating depression symptoms through modulation of the NFκB-NLRP2-Caspase1-IL1ß pathway. CONCLUSIONS: The promising therapeutic role of HPL in treating depression is primarily attributed to its regulation of the NFκB-NLRP2-Caspase1-IL1ß pathway, specifically by targeting AKK and tryptophan metabolites.

TRIM35 Monoubiquitinates H2B in Cardiac Cells, Implications for Heart Failure.

BACKGROUND: The tumor suppressor and proapoptotic transcription factor P53 is induced (and activated) in several forms of heart failure, including cardiotoxicity and dilated cardiomyopathy; however, the precise mechanism that coordinates its induction with accessibility to its transcriptional promoter sites remains unresolved, especially in the setting of mature terminally differentiated (nonreplicative) cardiomyocytes. METHODS: Male and female control or TRIM35 (tripartite motif containing 35) overexpression adolescent (aged 1-3 months) and adult (aged 4-6 months) transgenic mice were used for all in vivo experiments. Primary adolescent or adult mouse cardiomyocytes were isolated from control or TRIM35 overexpression transgenic mice for all in vitro experiments. Adenovirus or small-interfering RNA was used for all molecular experiments to overexpress or knockdown, respectively, target genes in primary mouse cardiomyocytes. Patient dilated cardiomyopathy or nonfailing left ventricle samples were used for translational and mechanistic insight. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and DNA sequencing or quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to assess P53 binding to its transcriptional promoter targets, and RNA sequencing was used to identify disease-specific signaling pathways. RESULTS: Here, we show that E3-ubiquitin ligase TRIM35 can directly monoubiquitinate lysine-120 (K120) on histone 2B in postnatal mature cardiomyocytes. This epigenetic modification was sufficient to promote chromatin remodeling, accessibility of P53 to its transcriptional promoter targets, and elongation of its transcribed mRNA. We found that increased P53 transcriptional activity (in cardiomyocyte-specific Trim35 overexpression transgenic mice) was sufficient to initiate heart failure and these molecular findings were recapitulated in nonischemic human LV dilated cardiomyopathy samples. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that TRIM35 and the K120Ub-histone 2B epigenetic modification are molecular features of cardiomyocytes that can collectively predict dilated cardiomyopathy pathogenesis.

Marital status impacts survival of stage I non-small-cell lung cancer: a propensity-score matching analysis.

Aim: This population-based analysis aimed to explore the associations among marital status, prognosis and treatment of stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. Materials & methods: The propensity score matching (PSM), logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards model were used in this study. Results: A total of 13,937 patients were included. After PSM, 10579 patients were co-insured. The married were more likely to receive surgical treatment compared with the unmarried patients (OR: 1.841, p < 0.001), and patients who underwent surgery also tended to have better survival (HR: 0.293, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Compared with unmarried patients, a married group with stage I NSCLC had timely treatment and more satisfactory survival. This study highlights the importance of prompt help and care for unmarried patients.

Developing a Nomogram for Predicting Colorectal Cancer and Its Precancerous Lesions Based on Data from Three Non-Invasive Screening Tools, APCS, FIT, and sDNA.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting positive colonoscopy results using the data from non-invasive screening strategies. Methods: The volunteers participated in primary colorectal cancer (CRC) screenings using Asia-Pacific colorectal screening (APCS) scoring, faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) and stool deoxyribonucleic acid (sDNA) testing and underwent a colonoscopy. The positive colonoscopy results included CRC, advanced adenoma (AA), high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN), and low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN). The enrolled participants were randomly selected for training and validation sets in a 7:3 ratio. A model for predicting positive colonoscopy results was virtualized by the nomogram using logistic regression analysis. Results: Among the 179 enrolled participants, 125 were assigned to training set, while 54 were assigned to validation set. After multivariable logistic regression was done, APCS score, FIT result, and sDNA result were all identified as the predictors for positive colonoscopy results. A model that incorporated the above independent predictors was developed and presented as a nomogram. The C-index of the nomogram in the validation set was 0.768 (95% CI, 0.644-0.891). The calibration curve demonstrated a good agreement between prediction and observation. The decision curve analysis (DCA) curve showed that the model achieved a net benefit across all threshold probabilities. The AUC of the prediction model for predicting positive colonoscopy results was much higher than that of the FIT + sDNA test scheme. Conclusion: The nomogram for predicting positive colonoscopy results was successfully developed based on 3 non-invasive screening tools (APCS scoring, FIT and sDNA test).

A Renal Clearable Nano-Assembly with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Amplified Superoxide Radical and Heat Generation to Overcome Hypoxia Resistance in Phototherapeutics.

Given that type I photosensitizers (PSs) possess a good hypoxic tolerance, developing an innovative tactic to construct type I PSs is crucially important, but remains a challenge. Herein, we present a smart molecular design strategy based on the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism to develop a type I photodynamic therapy (PDT) agent with an encouraging amplification effect for accurate hypoxic tumor therapy. Of note, benefiting from the FRET effect, the obtained nanostructured type I PDT agent (NanoPcSZ) with boosted light-harvesting ability not only amplifies superoxide radical (O2 •-) production but also promotes heat generation upon near-infrared light irradiation. These features facilitate NanoPcSZ to realize excellent phototherapeutic response under both normal and hypoxic environments. As a result, both in vitro and in vivo experiments achieved a remarkable improvement in therapeutic efficacy via the combined effect of photothermal action and type I photoreaction. Notably, NanoPcSZ can be eliminated from organs (including the liver, lung, spleen, and kidney) apart from the tumor site and excreted through urine within 24 h of its systemic administration. In this way, the potential biotoxicity of drug accumulation can be avoided and the biosafety can be further enhanced.

Application of online to offline teaching mode in the training of non-anesthesiology residents in the department of anesthesiology: a randomized, controlled trial.

Objective: To explore the effect of applying the online to offline teaching mode in the training of non-anesthesiology residents in department of anesthesiology. Trial design: The randomized controlled trial was performed on non-anesthesiology residents from Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Methods: All selected residents were randomly divided into the traditional teaching group (Group T) and the online to offline teaching group (Group O) by the random number table method. Traditional teaching mode was used in Group T, while the online to offline teaching mode was used in Group O. The training period lasted for two months. At the end of the training, theoretical and clinical skills were assessed for all residents, and students' satisfaction scores on teaching were investigated from the aspects of teaching mode, stimulating learning interest, improving learning process and teaching satisfaction. The teaching efficiency was compared and analyzed in the two groups. Results: In total, 39 cases in Group O and 38 cases in Group T were included in the statistical analysis. Compared with Group T, theory test scores, clinical skills test scores, and overall scores improved significantly in Group O (82.2 ± 8.1 vs. 91.3 ± 7.6; 85.1 ± 4.7 vs. 93.3 ± 5.4 and 83.4 ± 6.4 vs. 92.1 ± 6.7, respectively, p < 0.01). Compared with Group T, scores on teaching mode, stimulating learning interest, improving learning process and teaching satisfaction were higher in Group O (81.1 ± 6.9 vs. 93.7 ± 5.2; 83.6 ± 5.8 vs. 91.6 ± 6.4; 82.4 ± 5.3 vs. 90.9 ± 4.8 and 82.1 ± 5.9 vs. 92.1 ± 5.5, respectively, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The online to offline teaching mode can improve the level of professional theory and clinical skill operation, and teaching satisfaction of the non-anesthesiology residents in department of anesthesiology, thus improving the teaching effectiveness.

Digital inverse patterning solutions for fabrication of high-fidelity microstructures in spatial light modulator (SLM)-based projection lithography.

Digital mask projection lithography (DMPL) technology is gaining significant attention due to its characteristics of free-mask, flexibility, and low cost. However, when dealing with target layouts featuring sizes smaller than the wavelength scale, accurately producing resist patterns that closely match the target layout using conventional methods to design the modulation coefficients of digital masks produced by spatial light modulators (SLM) becomes challenging. Here, we present digital inversion lithography technology (DILT), which offers what we believe to be a novel approach to reverse engineer the modulation coefficients of digital masks. In the case of binary amplitude modulation, DILT achieves a remarkable reduction in pattern errors (PE), reaching the original 0.26. At the same time, in the case of the gray amplitude modulation, the PE can be reduced to the original 0.05, which greatly improves the high-fidelity transfer of the target layout. This significant improvement enhances the accuracy of target design transfer. By leveraging the capabilities of DILT, DMPL can now attain higher precision and reliability, paving the way for more advanced applications in the field of micro-nano device manufacturing.

Remote Control of Energy Transformation-Based Cancer Imaging and Therapy.

Cancer treatment requires precise tumor-specific targeting at specific sites that allows for high-resolution diagnostic imaging and long-term patient-tailorable cancer therapy; while, minimizing side effects largely arising from non-targetability. This can be realized by harnessing exogenous remote stimuli, such as tissue-penetrative ultrasound, magnetic field, light, and radiation, that enable local activation for cancer imaging and therapy in deep tumors. A myriad of nanomedicines can be efficiently activated when the energy of such remote stimuli can be transformed into another type of energy. This review discusses the remote control of energy transformation for targetable, efficient, and long-term cancer imaging and therapy. Such ultrasonic, magnetic, photonic, radiative, and radioactive energy can be transformed into mechanical, thermal, chemical, and radiative energy to enable a variety of cancer imaging and treatment modalities. The current review article describes multimodal energy transformation where a serial cascade or multiple types of energy transformation occur. This review includes not only mechanical, chemical, hyperthermia, and radiation therapy but also emerging thermoelectric, pyroelectric, and piezoelectric therapies for cancer treatment. It also illustrates ultrasound, magnetic resonance, fluorescence, computed tomography, photoluminescence, and photoacoustic imaging-guided cancer therapies. It highlights afterglow imaging that can eliminate autofluorescence for sustained signal emission after the excitation.

Endowing Metal-Organic Coordination Materials with Chiroptical Activity by a Chiral Anion Strategy.

Recently, chiral metal-organic coordination materials have emerged as promising candidates for a wide range of applications in chiroptoelectronics, chiral catalysis, and information encryption, etc. Notably, the chiroptical effect of coordination chromophores makes them appealing for applications such as photodetectors, OLEDs, 3D displays, and bioimaging. The direct synthesis of chiral coordination materials using chiral organic ligands or complexes with metal-centered chirality is very often tedious and costly. In the case of ionic coordination materials, the combination of chiral anions with cationic, achiral coordination compounds through noncovalent interactions may endow molecular materials with desirable chiroptical properties. The use of such a simple chiral strategy has been proven effective in inducing promising circular dichroism and/or circularly polarized luminescence signals. This concept article mainly delves into the latest advances in exploring the efficacy of such a chiral anion strategy for transforming achiral coordination materials into chromophores with superb photo- or electro-chiroptical properties. In particular, ionic small-molecular metal complexes, metal clusters, coordination supramolecular assemblies, and metal-organic frameworks containing chiral anions are discussed. A perspective on the future opportunities on the preparation of chiroptical materials with the chiral anion strategy is also presented.

Optical proximity correction of hot-spot patterns with subwavelength size in DMD maskless projection lithography.

When the critical dimension (CD) of resist patterns nears the resolution limit of the digital micromirror device (DMD) maskless projection lithography (DMD-MPL), significant distortion can emerge in the silicon wafer due to the optical proximity effect (OPE). The significant distortion (breakpoints, line-end scaling, corner rounding, etc.) between resist patterns and target patterns results in reduced lithographic quality. To address this issue, we have proposed a pixel-based optical proximity correction (PB-OPC) method used for the hot-spot patterns with subwavelength sizes specifically designed for DMD-MPL. Employing an end-to-end learning neural network, the PB-OPC algorithm is both straightforward and efficient. A well-trained U-net framework facilitates the mapping from unoptimized masks to optimized masks. Experimental exposure trials have demonstrated that this method not only corrects OPC in general patterns but also effectively rectifies hot-spot patterns. The pattern error (PE) value can be reduced by about 30% in the design layouts. We believe this approach holds the potential to enhance the resolution and fidelity of resist patterns in DMD maskless lithography.

Secretory breast carcinoma: clinicopathological features and prognosis of 52 patients.

PURPOSE: Secretory breast carcinoma is a rare histological subtype of invasive breast cancer and considered with an indolent clinical behavior. This study was conducted to analyze the clinicopathological features of patients with secretory breast carcinoma (SBC), explore the outcome, and compare the prognostic difference with invasive ductal breast carcinoma (IDC). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients with SBC diagnosed between 2006 and 2017 from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were included in the study, excluding patients with previous malignant tumor history and incomplete clinical data or follow-up records. Peculiar clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features of the cases were fully described. Clinical data of 4979 cases of IDC were also evaluated during this period. After propensity score matching, prognostic analysis of SBCs and IDCs was calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and landmark analysis method. RESULTS: The data of 52 patients diagnosed with SBC were identified from the pathological files. Among them, 47 patients were women, and 5 were men. The median age of the 52 SBCs was 46 years (mean, 48.1 years; range, 10-80 years). The tumor sizes ranged from 0.3 to 6.8 cm, with a mean of 3.5 cm. Eight patients (15.4%) had positive axillary lymph node involvement. The molecular classification was mostly triple-negative breast cancer (65.4%). Fluorescence in situ hybridization confirmed the presence of ETV6::NTRK3 rearrangement in 16 of 18 cases (88.9%). Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and landmark analysis demonstrated that there were no statistically significant differences in DFS and OS between SBC and IDC patients. CONCLUSION: Although SBCs are generally associated with a favorable prognosis, our work exhibited that the clinicopathological features of SBC were partly different from former understandings, indicating that therapeutic procedure should be prudent. Further studies are necessary to fully identify the clinical behavior and predictive markers to improve diagnosis and management in this unique subtype of breast cancer.

Evidence from a meta-analysis and systematic review reveals the global prevalence of mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a preclinical and transitional stage between healthy ageing and dementia. The purpose of our study was to investigate the recent pooled global prevalence of MCI. Methods: This meta-analysis was in line with the recommendations of Cochrane's Handbook and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020. We conducted a comprehensive search using the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, WFD, VIP, and CBM from their inception to March 1, 2023. Quality assessment was guided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) methodology checklist. The pooled global prevalence of MCI was synthesized using meta-analysis via random effect model. Subgroup analyses were performed to examine considered factors potentially associated with MCI prevalence. Results: We identified 233 studies involving 676,974 individuals aged above 50 years. All the studies rated as moderated-to-high quality. The overall prevalence of MCI was 19.7% [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 18.3-21.1%]. Subgroup analyses revealed that the global prevalence of MCI increased over time, with a significant rise [32.1% (95% CI: 22.6-41.6%)] after 2019. Additionally, MCI prevalence in hospitals [34.0% (95% CI: 22.2-45.7%)] was higher than in nursing homes [22.6% (95% CI: 15.5-29.8%)] and communities [17.9% (95% CI: 16.6-19.2%)], particularly after the epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Conclusion: The global prevalence of MCI was 19.7% and mainly correlated with beginning year of survey and sample source. The MCI prevalence increased largely in hospitals after 2019 may be related to the outbreak of COVID-19. Further attention to MCI is necessary in the future to inform allocation of health resources for at-risk populations.

Comparing genomes of Fructus Amomi-producing species reveals genetic basis of volatile terpenoid divergence.

Wurfbainia longiligularis and Wurfbainia villosa are both rich in volatile terpenoids and are 2 primary plant sources of Fructus Amomi used for curing gastrointestinal diseases. Metabolomic profiling has demonstrated that bornyl diphosphate (BPP)-related terpenoids are more abundant in the W. villosa seeds and have a wider tissue distribution in W. longiligularis. To explore the genetic mechanisms underlying the volatile terpenoid divergence, a high-quality chromosome-level genome of W. longiligularis (2.29 Gb, contig N50 of 80.39 Mb) was assembled. Functional characterization of 17 terpene synthases (WlTPSs) revealed that WlBPPS, along with WlTPS 24/26/28 with bornyl diphosphate synthase (BPPS) activity, contributes to the wider tissue distribution of BPP-related terpenoids in W. longiligularis compared to W. villosa. Furthermore, transgenic Nicotiana tabacum showed that the GCN4-motif element positively regulates seed expression of WvBPPS and thus promotes the enrichment of BPP-related terpenoids in W. villosa seeds. Systematic identification and analysis of candidate TPS in 29 monocot plants from 16 families indicated that substantial expansion of TPS-a and TPS-b subfamily genes in Zingiberaceae may have driven increased diversity and production of volatile terpenoids. Evolutionary analysis and functional identification of BPPS genes showed that BPP-related terpenoids may be distributed only in the Zingiberaceae of monocot plants. This research provides valuable genomic resources for breeding and improving Fructus Amomi with medicinal and edible value and sheds light on the evolution of terpenoid biosynthesis in Zingiberaceae.

Generating an M2 × N2 spot array with a dual-period hybrid Dammann grating fabricated using maskless projection lithography.

The Dammann grating (DG), which redistributes a collimated laser beam into a spot array with a uniform intensity, is a widely adopted approach for profile measurement. Conventional DGs for dense spot projection are binary phase gratings with precisely designed groove structures, which suffer from low efficiency, poor uniformity, and a hard-to-fabricate fine feature size when utilized for a large field of view (FOV). Here, we propose a new, to the best of our knowledge, hybrid DG architecture consisting of two different grating periods which effectively generates an engineering M2 × N2 spot array with a non-complex structural design. As a proof-of-concept, a dual-period hybrid DG with a two-scale grating period ratio of 11.88 µm/95.04 µm (∼1/8) is designed and fabricated as a means to generate a dense 72 × 72 diffraction spot array with a FOV of 17° × 17°. In addition, the DG exhibits superior performance, with a high efficiency (>60%) and a low non-uniformity (<18%) at a wavelength of 532 nm. This kind of hybrid DG constructed from photoresist patterns with a minimum feature size of ∼1.2 µm can be perfectly fabricated by maskless projection lithography for large-scale and low-cost production. The proposed dual-period hybrid DG can pave the way for depth-perception-related applications such as face unlocking and motion sensing.

Experimental Examination of Entanglement Estimates.

Recently, a proper genuine multipartite entanglement measure has been found for three-qubit pure states [see Xie and Eberly, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 040403 (2021)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.127.040403], but capturing useful entanglement measures for mixed states has remained an open challenge. So far, it requires not only a full tomography in experiments, but also huge calculational labor. A leading proposal was made by Gühne, Reimpell, and Werner [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 110502 (2007)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.98.110502], who used expectation values of entanglement witnesses to describe a lower bound estimation of entanglement. We provide here an extension that also gives genuine upper bounds of entanglement. This advance requires only the expectation value of any Hermitian operator. Moreover, we identify a class of operators A_{1} that not only give good estimates, but also require a remarkably small number of experimental measurements. In this Letter, we define our approach and illustrate it by estimating entanglement measures for a number of pure and mixed states prepared in our recent experiments.

Prognostic Factors of Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Database Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify new, more accurate risk factors of liver transplantation for liver cancer through using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. METHODS: Using the SEER database, we identified patients that had undergone surgical resection for non-metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and subsequent liver transplantation between 2010 and 2017. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier plotter. Cox proportional hazards regression modelling was used to identify factors independently associated with recurrent disease [presented as adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% CIs]. RESULTS: Totally, 1530 eligible patients were included in the analysis. There were significant differences in ethnicity (P=0.04), cancer stage (P<0.001), vascular invasion (P<0.001) and gall bladder involvement (P<0.001) between the groups that survived, died due to cancer, or died due to other causes. In the Cox regression model, there were no significant differences in OS at 5 years with different operative strategies (autotransplantation versus allotransplantation), nor at survival at 1 year with neoadjuvant radiotherapy. However, neoadjuvant radiotherapy did appear to improve survival at both 3 years (HR: 0.540, 95% CI: 0.326-0.896, P=0.017) and 5 years (HR: 0.338, 95% CI: 0.153-0.747, P=0.007) from diagnosis. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated differences in patient characteristics between prognostic groups after liver resection and transplantation for HCC. These criteria can be used to inform patient selection and consent in this setting. Preoperative radiotherapy may improve long-term survival post-transplantation.