Indoor high-precision visible light positioning system using Jaya algorithm.

Several indoor positioning systems that utilize visible light communication (VLC) have recently been developed. Due to the simple implementation and high precision, most of these systems are dependent on received signal strength (RSS). The position of the receiver can be estimated according to the positioning principle of the RSS. To improve positioning precision, an indoor three-dimensional (3D) visible light positioning (VLP) system with the Jaya algorithm is proposed. In contrast to other positioning algorithms, the Jaya algorithm has a simple structure with only one phase and achieves high accuracy without controlling the parameter settings. The simulation results show that an average error of 1.06 cm is achieved using the Jaya algorithm in 3D indoor positioning. The average errors of 3D positioning using the Harris Hawks optimization algorithm (HHO), ant colony algorithm with an area-based optimization model (ACO-ABOM), and modified artificial fish swam algorithm (MAFSA) are 2.21 cm, 1.86 cm and 1.56 cm, respectively. Furthermore, simulation experiments are performed in motion scenes, where a high-precision positioning error of 0.84 cm is achieved. The proposed algorithm is an efficient method for indoor localization and outperforms other indoor positioning algorithms.

A novel microfluidic system for enrichment of functional circulating tumor cells in cancer patient blood samples by combining cell size and invasiveness.

A highly invasive subpopulation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may constitute seeds for metastases, which are therefore considered functional CTCs. However, there are few effective strategies to detect CTCs based on invasive phenotypes. Herein, we focused on functional CTCs with high invasiveness and designed an integrated microfluidic system to differentiate the invasive potential of CTCs for more accurate metastasis prediction. By combining size-based enrichment and invasiveness-based analysis, the system managed to continuously remove most hemocytes by 8 µm gaps and analyze the invasiveness of the enriched CTCs by Matrigel loading. In addition to a device, a single pump and a Petri dish were included to provide an FBS gradient for driving cell invasion and maintain a long-term cell culture. The system successfully identified functional CTCs derived from different types of cancer patients, including colorectal, kidney and bladder cancer patients, using whole blood without any sample pretreatment process. Within 28 cases of colorectal cancer patients, functional CTCs were detected in 61.54% of patients with metastases, along with stronger invasiveness evaluated by migration/invasion distance than those from patients without metastases (P < 0.05). Furthermore, one bladder cancer patient was diagnosed with recurrence six months after detection, indicating the excellent value for cancer metastases prediction. In addition, great phenotypic heterogeneity of CTCs was also observed at the single-cell level, including invasion, proliferation and dormancy, which provided an effective strategy for metastasis prediction based on CTC function as a single cell.

Novel Molecular Aptamer Beacon for the Specific Simultaneous Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells and Exosomes of Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Liquid biopsy provides non-invasive and real-time detection for cancer diagnosis, but the lack of specific markers targeted to liquid biopsy components, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and exosomes, has impeded its effective utilization in clinical settings. W3 is an aptamer, and its target has been previously demonstrated to be a predictor of colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis. Herein, we developed a W3-based molecular beacon (MAB-W3-3G) to specifically detect CTCs and exosomes derived from CRC patients by modifying the W3 sequence and adding a fluorescent group FAM at the 5' end and a quencher group BHQ1 at the 3' end, resulting in a detectable green fluorescence only in the presence of the target. MAB-W3-3G retained features similar to those of the original W3, including high specificity and affinity for metastatic CRC cells, as well as excellent plasma stability. Notably, W3 target-positive CTCs were visualized, positive exosomes were quantified in CRC patients' whole blood without any sample pretreatment, and both detections could be finished in one step without any routine washing procedures. For CRC, the W3 target-positive CTC enumeration in metastasis was higher than that in non-metastasis (p < 0.01), and the quantitation of positive exosomes was correlated with CRC patients (p < 0.0001). Moreover, the MAB-W3-3G-based simultaneous detection of CTCs and exosomes was proven to have the potential for more precise clinical diagnosis. In conclusion, MAB-W3-3G could detect CTCs and exosomes in the blood samples of tumor patients with simple manipulation, rapid analysis, and high specificity, providing an effective liquid biopsy tool for the prediction of CRC.

The impact of land use and rainfall patterns on the soil loss of the hillslope.

In order to discuss the effect of rainfall patterns and land use types on soil erosion, the experiment is carried out under natural rainfall events on different kinds of runoff plots in Zhangjiachong watershed. Based on the observed data of 44 individual rainfall events including moderate, heavy and storm rainfall, the differences of erosion modulus among hedgerows plots, terrace plots, and slope plots under different rainfall patterns are analyzed. And the effects of hedgerow and terrace patterns on control of soil loss are revealed by RUSLE. Wilcoxon signed rank test is applied to analyze the significant difference of erosion modulus in different plots and the coefficient of variation is used to compare the characteristics of erosion modulus under different rainfall patterns. The results show that the soil erosion modulus of earth banked terrace has the highest value and the lowest soil erosion modulus occurs in the slope land with hedgerows. The coefficients of variation for soil erosion modulus under heavy and storm rainfall are larger than that of moderate rainfall. Hedgerow pattern can effectively control soil erosion under moderate and heavy rainfall while the effect of hedgerow is considerably weakened under storm rainfall. Earth banked terraces own the highest erosion modulus followed by slope land and stone dike terraces.

[Content and Distribution of Cadmium in Soil and Fluvial Sediments in the Sea-Land Interaction Zone].

Cadmium pollution poses a threat to human health. The examination of spatial distribution of Cd in soils can be used to assess the risks posed to humans and the environment. The enrichment characteristics and variation rules of heavy metal cadmium in the soil were revealed by analyzing the concentration and fractions of Cd in the soil at different depths in the sea-land interaction zone. The results showed that: ① the concentration of Cd in the surface water of Nansha was lower than 0.0001 mg ·L-1, and the physical and chemical properties of river sediments showed spatial differences with the boundary of "Shang Heng-li River". Cd was mainly deposited in the north of the "Shang Heng-li River", with the mean total Cd of 2.71 mg ·kg-1. The total Cd in the sediment of the "Shang Heng-li River" and the rivers south of it were 0.062-0.39 mg ·kg-1, which caused minimal harm to the marine environment. ② The content of Cd in the soil profile gradually decreased with an increase in soil burial depth. The median content of Cd in the five layers, including 0-20 cm, 20-50 cm, 50-90 cm, 90-140 cm, and 140-200 cm, were 0.51, 0.50, 0.45, 0.42, and 0.33 mg ·kg-1, respectively, and the dispersion degree gradually decreased with an increase in buried depth; the vertical migration amount and migration depth of Cd increased significantly in soils with pH less than 5. ③ The residual Cd in the soil accounted for approximately 40%, and the trend was typically flat with a change in buried depth. The median proportion of acid soluble Cd was consistent with the change in pH and increased with an increase in the buried depth of the profile, while the median proportion of reducible Cd was consistent with the change in iron and manganese content, and decreased with an increase in buried depth of section. These results have important guiding significance for the regional prevention and control of Cd pollution in farmland surrounding cities and the treatment and remediation of polluted soil.