Multi-outcome homodyne detection in a coherent-state light interferometer

The Cramér-Rao bound plays a central role in both classical and quantum parameter estimation, but finding the observable and the resulting inversion estimator that saturates this bound remains an open issue for general multi-outcome measurements. Here we consider multi-outcome homodyne detection in a coherent-light Mach-Zehnder interferometer and construct a family of inversion estimators that almost saturate the Cramér-Rao bound over the whole range of phase interval. This provides a clue on constructing optimal inversion estimators for phase estimation and other parameter estimation in any multi-outcome measurement.

Construction of a novel DNA vaccine candidate targeting F gene of genotype VII Newcastle disease virus and chicken IL-18 delivered by Salmonella

AIMS

Genotype VII Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most epidemic and serious infectious diseases in the poultry industry. A novel vaccine targeting VII Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is still proving elusive.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this study, we constructed regulated delayed lysis Salmonella strains expressing either a fusion protein (F) alone under an eukaryotic CMV promoter or together with chicken IL-18 (chIL-18) as a molecular adjuvant under prokaryotic P_trc promoter, named pYL1 and pYL23 respectively. Oral immunization with recombinant strains induced NDV-specific serum IgG antibodies in both pYL1- and pYL23-immunized chickens. The presence of chIL-18 significantly increased lymphocyte proliferation in immunized chickens, as well as the percentages of CD3⁺ CD4⁺ and CD3⁺ CD8⁺ T cells in serum, even if a statistically significant difference did not exist. After a virulent challenge, pYL23 immunization provided about 80% protection at day 10 postinfection, compared with 60% of protection offered by pYL1 immunization and 100% protection in the inactivated vaccine group, indicating the enhanced immune response provided by chIL-18, which was also confirmed by histochemical analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Recombinant lysis Salmonella-vectored DNA vaccine could provide us a novel potential option for controlling NDV infection.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study took use of a regulated delayed lysis Salmonella vector for the design of an orally administrated vaccine against NDV.

RNA-seq of circular RNAs identified circPTPN22 as a potential new activity indicator in systemic lupus erythematosus

Background

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are possible biomarkers for many diseases, but the knowledge of circRNAs in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains limited. This study aimed to assess the expression of circRNAs in PBMCs from patients with SLE and healthy individuals by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq).

Methods

In total, 128 circRNAs were significantly differentially expressed including 39 upregulated and 89 downregulated circRNAs in four new-onset SLE patients compared with three healthy controls. After verification of the four candidate circRNAs in 49 patients with SLE and 37 controls using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays, a previously undescribed circRNA with potential translation activity, circPTPN22, was selected to confirm its clinical significance.

Results

Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that the parent gene of circPTPN22 was protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 22 (PTPN22), a potent regulator of T cell activation. The downregulation of circPTPN22 in patients with SLE was strongly negatively correlated with their Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) scores. circRNA-miRNA-mRNA co-expression network analysis indicated a correlation between circPTPN22 and the miRNAs and mRNAs related to immunological regulation including the development of SLE. Patients with higher SLEDAI scores had lower circPTPN22 expression levels, and long-term hormone treatment significantly increased circPTPN22 levels. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that circPTPN22 has good diagnostic value for SLE.

Conclusion

Our data demonstrated the aberrant expression of circRNAs in patients with SLE compared with healthy controls; circPTPN22 might function as a diagnostic and disease severity indicator in SLE.

Abstract PD4-04: Role of breast MRI in predicting pathologically negative nodes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cN0 patients in the I-SPY2 trial

Background

In clinically node-negative (cN0) breast cancer patients with triple negative (TN) and HER2+ disease and breast pathological complete response (breast pCR), low rates of nodal positivity after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) have been demonstrated. In these patients, the omission of surgical axillary staging has been proposed. However, this information is not routinely known preoperatively. We aimed to validate the correlation between pathologic breast response and pathologic nodal status, and evaluate the relationship between response of the breast tumor on MRI and pathologic nodal status after NAC in cN0 patients in the I-SPY2 trial.

Methods

We identified all patients with cT1-4 cN0 breast cancer prior to NAC from graduated arms of the I-SPY2 trial, a prospective neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial. Absence of residual disease post-NAC was defined as longest diameter (LD) of 0 mm on MRI. Breast pCR was defined as the absence of invasive tumor in the breast at surgery. Associations between ypN0 and patient, MRI, and tumor characteristics were assessed using chi-square tests and univariate regression.

Results

Of 365 cT1-4 cN0 patients included, 128 had HR+/HER2- tumors (35%), 60 HR+/HER2+ tumors (16%), 34 HR-/HER2+ tumors (9%) and 143 TN tumors (39%). Overall, 283 patients (78%) were ypN0 after NAC and 152 patients (42%) had a breast pCR. ypN0 rate was higher in patients with a breast pCR than those with residual disease (93% vs 66%, p<0.001). Patients with HR-/HER2+ and TN tumors were more likely to be ypN0 (97% and 87% respectively) than patients with HR+/HER2- and HR+/HER2+ disease (66% and 71% respectively, p<0.001). Other characteristics associated with ypN0 were tumor grade (grade I 57%, grade II 66%, grade III 84%; p=0.002), MammaPrint Classification (High Risk 1 68% and High Risk 2 87%; p<0.001) and absence of residual tumor in the breast on MRI (87% vs 72% in patients with evidence of tumor on MRI post-NAC/pre-surgery; p=0.003).

In patients with HR-/HER2+, HR+/HER2+, HR-/HER2+ or TN disease and a breast pCR, ypN0 rate was respectively 82%, 96%, 96% and 97% (table 1). In patients with HR+/HER2-, HR+/HER2+, HR-/HER2+ or TN disease and with no evidence of residual disease in the breast on MRI, rate of ypN0 was 71%, 80%, 94% and 96% respectively.

Conclusion

In cT1-4 cN0 breast cancer patients with HR+/HER2+, HR-/HER2+ and TN tumors and a breast pCR, ypN0 rates after NAC are extremely high. In patients with HR-/HER2+ and TN tumors with no residual breast disease on MRI after NAC and pre-surgery, ypN0 rates are high enough to consider omission of axillary surgery. In patients with HR+ tumors, MRI is unsufficiently predictive for pathological response and can therefore not be used to select ypN0 patients. Research on the prediction of ypN0 in cN+ I-SPY2 patients is ongoing.

Nodal status in patients with pCR and absence of residual disease on MRI Number of positive nodesBreast Cancer Subtype0123AllBreast pCR     HR+/HER2-27(82)2(6)4(12)033(100)HR+/HER2+24(96)01(4)025(100)HR-/HER2+24(96)1(4)0025(100)TN67(97)2(3)0069(100)Absence of residual disease on MRI     HR+/HER2-24(71)7(21)3(9)034(100)HR+/HER2+16(80)3(15)01(5)20(100)HR-/HER2+15(94)1(6)0016(100)TN54(96)2(4)0056(100)

Citation Format: van der Noordaa ME, Esserman L, Yau C, Mukhtar R, Price E, Hylton N, Abe H, Wolverton D, Crane EP, Ward KA, Nelson M, Niell BL, Oh K, Brandt KR, Bang DH, Ojeda-Fournier H, Eghtedari M, Sheth PA, Bernreuter WK, Umphrey H, Rosen MA, Dogan B, Yang W, Joe B, van 't Veer L, Hirst G, Lancaster R, Wallace A, Alvaredo M, Symmans F, Asare S, Boughey JC, I-SPY2 Consortium. Role of breast MRI in predicting pathologically negative nodes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cN0 patients in the I-SPY2 trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD4-04.

Abstract P2-07-03: Refining neoadjuvant predictors of three year distant metastasis free survival: Integrating volume change as measured by MRI with residual cancer burden

Background: Patients achieving a pathologic complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant therapy have significantly improved event-free survival relative to those who do not; and pCR is an FDA-accepted endpoint to support accelerated approval of novel agents/combinations in the neoadjuvant treatment of high risk early stage breast cancer. Previous studies have shown that recurrence risk increased with increasing burden of residual disease (as assessed by the RCB index). As well, these studies suggest that patients with minimum residual disease (RCB-I class) also have favorable outcomes (comparable to those achieving a pCR) within high risk tumor subtypes. In this study, we assess whether integrating RCB with MRI functional tumor volume (FTV), which in itself is prognostic, can improve prediction of distant recurrence free survival (DRFS); and identify a subset of patients with minimal residual disease with comparable DRFS as those who achieved a pCR. Imaging tools can then be used to identify the subset that will do well early and guide the timing of surgical therapy.

Method: We performed a pooled analysis of 596 patients from the I-SPY2 TRIAL with RCB, pre-surgical MRI FTV data and known follow-up (median 2.5 years). We first assessed whether FTV predicts residual disease (pCR or pCR/RCB-I) using ROC analysis. We applied a power transformation to normalize the pre-surgical FTV distribution; and assessed its association with DRFS using a bi-variate Cox proportional hazard model adjusting for HR/HER2 subtype. We also fitted a bivariate Cox model of RCB index adjusting for subtype; and assessed whether adding pre-surgical FTV to this model further improves association with DRFS using a likelihood ratio (LR) test. For the Cox modeling, penalized splines approximation of the transformed FTV and RCB index with 2 degrees of freedom was used to allow for non-linear effects of FTV and RCB on DRFS.

Result: Pre-surgical MRI FTV is significantly associated with DRFS (Wald p<0.00001), and more effective at predicting pCR/RCB-I than predicting pCR alone (AUC: 0.72 vs. 0.65). Larger pre-surgical FTV remains associated with worse DRFS adjusting for subtype (Wald p <0.00001). The RCB index is also significantly associated with DRFS adjusting for subtype (Wald p<0.00001). Adding FTV to a model containing RCB and subtype further improves association with DRFS (LR p=0.0007). RCB-I patients have excellent DRFS (94% at 3 years compared to 95% in the pCR group). Efforts are underway to identify an optimal threshold for dichotomizing pre-surgical FTV and FTV change measures for use in combination with pCR/RCB-I class to generate integrated RCB (iRCB) groups as a composite predictor of DRFS.

Conclusion: Pre-surgical MRI FTV is effective at predicting minimal residual disease (RCB0/I) in the I-SPY 2 TRIAL. Despite the association between FTV and RCB, FTV appears to provide independent added prognostic value (to RCB and subtype), suggesting that integrating MRI volume measures and RCB into a composite predictor may improve DRFS prediction.

Citation Format: Hylton NM, Symmans WF, Yau C, Li W, Hatzis C, Isaacs C, Albain KS, Chen Y-Y, Krings G, Wei S, Harada S, Datnow B, Fadare O, Klein M, Pambuccian S, Chen B, Adamson K, Sams S, Mhawech-Fauceglia P, Magliocco A, Feldman M, Rendi M, Sattar H, Zeck J, Ocal I, Tawfik O, Grasso LeBeau L, Sahoo S, Vinh T, Yang S, Adams A, Chien AJ, Ferero-Torres A, Stringer-Reasor E, Wallace A, Boughey JC, Ellis ED, Elias AD, Lang JE, Lu J, Han HS, Clark AS, Korde L, Nanda R, Northfelt DW, Khan QJ, Viscusi RK, Euhus DM, Edmiston KK, Chui SY, Kemmer K, Wood WC, Park JW, Liu MC, Olopade O, Tripathy D, Moulder SL, Rugo HS, Schwab R, Lo S, Helsten T, Beckwith H, Haugen PK, van't Veer LJ, Perlmutter J, Melisko ME, Wilson A, Peterson G, Asare AL, Buxton MB, Paoloni M, Clennell JL, Hirst GL, Singhrao R, Steeg K, Matthews JB, Sanil A, Berry SM, Abe H, Wolverton D, Crane EP, Ward KA, Nelson M, Niell BL, Oh K, Brandt KR, Bang DH, Ojeda-Fournier H, Eghtedari M, Sheth PA, Bernreuter WK, Umphrey H, Rosen MA, Dogan B, Yang W, Joe B, I-SPY 2 TRIAL Consortium, Yee D, Pusztai L, DeMichele A, Asare SM, Berry DA, Esserman LJ. Refining neoadjuvant predictors of three year distant metastasis free survival: Integrating volume change as measured by MRI with residual cancer burden [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-07-03.

Abstract PD4-03: MRI detection of residual disease following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in the I-SPY 2 TRIAL

Background: Detecting residual disease accurately using MRI after NAC to identify both responders and non-responders is essential for de-escalating therapy or redirecting patients to more effective treatment. The purpose of this study is to determine if the combination of longest diameter (LD) and functional tumor volume (FTV) from dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE-) MRI is superior to FTV alone or LD alone for assessing treatment response after neoadjuvant therapy in breast cancer patients.

Methods: Data from patients in the graduated drug arms of the I-SPY 2 trial were included in the analysis. Both LD and FTV were assessed using DCE-MRI after neoadjuvant therapy. LD was measured by the site radiologist as the longest dimension of the enhanced area on early post-contrast images. Functional tumor volume (FTV) was assessed as the sum of voxels with enhancement above specific thresholds within the pre-defined region-of-interest (ROI). A linearized variable was derived to represent the combination of FTV and LD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the assessment of treatment response, pathologic complete response (pCR), defined as no invasive disease in the breast and lymph nodes, and in-breast pCR, defined as no invasive disease in the breast only. The analysis was performed in the full cohort and in breast cancer subtype defined by hormone receptor status and HER2 status.

Results: Among the patient cohort of N=675 with FTV and LD, 247 (37%) did and 428 (41%) did not achieve pCR after neoadjuvant therapy. pCR rates varied among HR/HER2 subtypes (HR+/HER2-: 19%; HR+/HER2+: 38%; HR-/HER2+: 71%; HR-/HER2- (triple negative, TN): 43%). In-breast pathologic complete response rates were slightly higher in each group (full: 41%; HR+/HER2-: 23%; HR+/HER2+: 43%; HR-/HER2+: 72%; HR-/HER2-: 49%). Table 1 shows AUCs for assessing pCR using FTV alone, LD alone, and the variable combining FTV and LD. Higher AUCs were observed in all patient groups using the combined variable. AUC of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.81) was observed for the combined variable to assess pCR in the full cohort. AUCs varied from 0.69 to 0.86 among HR/HER2 subgroups (HR+/HER2-: 0.69; HR+/HER2+: 0.74; HR-/HER2+: 0.86; HR-/HER2-: 0.80), with no difference in assessing pCR or in-breast pCR. The performance is best for the HR- subtypes.

Conclusions: Both FTV and LD can be used in the assessment of invasive disease residual after neoadjuvant therapy. The combined variable of FTV and LD achieved highest AUCs, compared to using individual variable alone. Tools to improve performance in the HR+ subsets are underway.

AUCs of MR measurements for identifying pCR  FTV alone (95% CI)LD alone (95% CI)Combined (95% CI)FullWith subtype adj.0.73 (0.71, 0.75)0.77 (0.74, 0.79)0.79 (0.77, 0.81)FullWithout subtype adj0.69 (0.65, 0.73)0.72 (0.68, 0.76)0.75 (0.71, 0.79)HR+/HER2- 0.68 (0.60, 0.77)0.68 (0.59, 0.77)0.69 (0.61, 0.77)HR+/HER2+ 0.65 (0.56, 0.75)0.72 (0.64, 0.80)0.74 (0.66, 0.82)HR-/HER2+ 0.69 (0.55, 0.83)0.82 (0.71, 0.92)0.86 (0.77, 0.95)HR-/HER2- (TN) 0.72 (0.66, 0.79)0.73 (0.67, 0.80)0.80 (0.74, 0.85)

Citation Format: Li W, Newitt D, Yun BL, Kornak J, Joe B, Yau C, Abe H, Wolverton D, Crane E, Ward K, Nelson M, Niell B, Drukteinis J, Oh K, Brandt K, Bang DH, Ojeda H, Eghtedari M, Sheth P, Bernreuter W, Umphrey H, Rosen M, Dogan B, Yang W, Esserman L, Hylton N. MRI detection of residual disease following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in the I-SPY 2 TRIAL [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD4-03.

Abstract P6-02-10: Early ultrasound evaluation for prediction of treatment response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer patients

Background: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is molecularly heterogeneous disease. Genomic profiling to identify the distinct TNBC subtypes is costly with long turnaround time. Early ultrasound after two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has the potential to identify patients who are likely to have pathological complete response. Suspected non-responder patients can undergo comprehensive genetic testing and triaged for specific targeted therapeutic trials.

Aim: To determine the value of ultrasound evaluation after two cycles of NAC to predict complete pathologic response in TNBC breast cancer patients.

Methods: 98 patients enrolled in “A randomized triple Negative Breast Cancer Enrolling Trial to Confirm Molecular Profiling Improves Survival” (Artemis) at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center had ultrasound evaluation before treatment and after two cycles of NAC (Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide). Three-dimensional measurements of the tumor were obtained at baseline and after 2 cycles of the NAC. Change in the tumor volume after 2 cycles of NAC was calculated. Residual cancer Volume (RCB) was calculated based on the final histopathology at surgery. Linear regression analysis evaluated associations between residual cancer burden (RCB) and change in volume of the index tumor.

Results: Median tumor size at diagnosis was 3 cm, range 0.6-11.9cm. Median size after two cycles was 2 cm, range 0.6-12.8 cm. RCB 0-I was seen in 55% of patients (54/98). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that of 22 patients with volume reduction >75%, 18 patients (82%) had RCB0-I (95%CI, 61%-93%).

Conclusion: Our data suggest that ultrasound exam after 2 cycles of NAC can identify TNBC patients who are unlikely to respond to standard NAC. These non-responder TNBC patients can be triaged for additional genetic testing and subsequent targeted clinical trials. Study on the larger number of patients is currently on the way.

Citation Format: Adrada BE, Candelaria R, Moulder S, Lane D, Santiago L, Arribas E, Hess KR, Valero V, Thompson A, Helgason T, Ravenberg E, Yang W, Rauch GM. Early ultrasound evaluation for prediction of treatment response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-02-10.

[Diffuse pulmonary meningotheliomatosis: a case report and literature review]

Objective: To analyze the clinical features, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of diffuse pulmonary meningotheliomatosis (DPM), a rare subtype of minute pulmonary meningothelial-like nodules (MPMN), so as to improve the understanding of this disorder. Methods: The clinical data of a patient diagnosed as DPM admitted in department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital in August 2016 were reported and the related literatures were reviewed. With "pulmonary meningothelial-like nodules" , "minute pulmonary meningothelial-like nodules" or "diffuse pulmonary meningotheliomatosis" as the search terms, and the search time before November 1st 2017 for Wanfangdata, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and PubMed.Twenty-five articles were retrieved, among which 6 English (all case reports) articles were found with the search term "diffuse pulmonary meningotheliomatosis" involving 10 cases, and the other 19 articles (1 Chinese, 18 English) about MPMN mainly discussed non-DPM cases,including 13 case reports and 6 pathological/genetic studies. Results: A 68-year old female was admitted to the hospital because of intermittent cough and expectoration for more than 3 years and aggravation for 3 weeks. Her pulmonary CT showed diffuse minute nodules distributed randomly throughout both lungs, and did not improve after treatment with oral Moxifloxacin for 2 weeks. A video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy was performed. The specimens showed MPMN and no other lesions, which confirmed the final diagnosis of DPM. She was followed without any medication therapy and her pulmonary CT showed stabilization of the lesions one year later. DPM was considered as a rare type of MPMN. A total of 11 cases were analyzed, including 10 cases reported in the literature. The patients included 1man and 10 women, aged 51 to 75 years, with an average age of (64±8) years. Among the 11 patients, 8 denied a history of smoking or of occupational exposure, 7 presented with dyspnea, shortness of breath, or fatigue, and 8 had mild abnormalities of pulmonary function test. The pulmonary CT of all the patients showed randomly distributed, diffuse bilateral small solid or ground-glass nodules, with the diameters less than 5 millimeters, some of which were cavitated. Only 1 patient had pulmonary thromboembolism, while the other 10 did not have any other lung diseases. All the patients were histologically diagnosed, 8 by open lung biopsies, 2 by transbronchial lung biopsy, and 1 by CT-guided fine needle aspiration. Three patients were followed for 12-92 months and the lung lesions were all stable. Conclusions: As a rare subtype of MPMN, DPM lacks specificity of clinical manifestations, and presents with diffuse bilateral small solid or ground-glass nodules, distributed randomly throughout both lungs. An early correct diagnosis depends on biopsy.

Local electronic structure of the peptide bond probed by resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering

Soft X-ray emission spectroscopy and RIXS are used to determine the local electronic structure of the peptide bond.

[Clinical value of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with blood supply from right adrenal artery]

Objective: To study the clinical value of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with blood supply from right adrenal artery. Methods: An imaging and clinical data of HCC patients with blood supply from right adrenal artery were collected from 2012 to 2016 after TACE treatment in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University and the safety and therapeutic efficacy of complete embolization therapy was analyzed retrospectively. Results: Twenty hepatocellular carcinoma patients with blood supply from right adrenal artery had received 23 times treatment. All lesions had invaded and protruded from the exogenous development of liver capsule. There were 14 cases with lesions > 5 cm in diameter. Right adrenal artery was found to be involved in the blood supply of three cases of hepatocellular carcinoma during TACE treatment for the first time. In addition, the remaining 17 cases had also received TACE treatment for the second to sixth time. The superior, middle, and inferior adrenal arteries were involved in 13, 3, and 9 cases, respectively. Twenty-four right adrenal arteries (96.0%) superselectively cannulated were successfully embolized without any serious complications. The standard method for evaluating the efficacy of liver cancer in 20 solid tumors follow-up cases showed that three cases were completely relieved, nine cases were partially relieved, two cases were stable, and six cases were progressive. The effective rate of embolization with blood supply from right adrenal artery lesions was 60.0%, and the control rate of lesion development was 70.0%. Conclusion: The right adrenal artery is mainly located in the S5-S7 segments of the liver. TACE features are obvious to ascertain its safety and effectiveness in the treatment of right adrenal artery tumors.

Discrete Superconducting Phases in FeSe-Derived Superconductors

A general feature of unconventional superconductors is the existence of a superconducting dome in the phase diagram. Here we report a series of discrete superconducting phases in the simplest iron-based superconductor, FeSe thin flakes, by continuously tuning the carrier concentration through the intercalation of Li and Na ions with a solid ionic gating technique. Such discrete superconducting phases are robust against the substitution of 20% S for Se, but they are vulnerable to the substitution of 2% Cu for Fe, highlighting the importance of the iron site being intact. The superconducting phase diagram for FeSe derivatives is given, which is distinct from that of other unconventional superconductors.

Landau Velocity for Collective Quantum Hall Breakdown in Bilayer Graphene

Breakdown of the quantum Hall effect (QHE) is commonly associated with an electric field approaching the inter-Landau-level (LL) Zener field, the ratio of the Landau gap and the cyclotron radius. Eluded in semiconducting heterostructures, in spite of extensive investigation, the intrinsic Zener limit is reported here using high-mobility bilayer graphene and high-frequency current noise. We show that collective excitations arising from electron-electron interactions are essential. Beyond a noiseless ballistic QHE regime a large super-Poissonian shot noise signals the breakdown via inter-LL scattering. The breakdown is ultimately limited by collective excitations in a regime where phonon and impurity scattering are quenched. The breakdown mechanism can be described by a Landau critical velocity as it bears strong similarities with the roton mechanism of superfluids. In addition, we show that breakdown is a precursor of an electric-field induced QHE-metal transition.

Detection and analysis of fine particulate matter and microbial aerosol in chicken houses in Shandong Province, China

Bacteria and fungi are primary constituents of airborne microbes in fine particulate matter and harmful to health. To evaluate the environmental quality of different poultry houses in Shandong Province, China, the airborne aerobic bacteria, airborne fungi, and airborne Escherichia coli were collected by the Andersen-6 air microorganism sampler. The fine particulate matter was collected by a ZR-3920 ambient air particulate matter sampler, and bacterial and fungal diversities and relative abundances analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that the concentrations of airborne aerobic bacteria, airborne fungi, and airborne Escherichia coli in poultry houses were 0.167 to 4.484 × 104 CFU/m3, 0.236 to 4.735 × 103 CFU/m3, and 0 to 33.0 CFU/m3, respectively. 11.4 to 34.3% of aerobic bacteria and 16.8 to 37.5% of fungi were distributed at levels 5 and 6 (0.6 to 2.1 μm, the particle sizes similar to fine particulate matter) in the Andersen sampler. The concentration of fine particulate matter in the poultry houses was 114 to 230 μg/m3, which was higher than the safety value 10 specified by WHO. In fine particulate matter, the main bacteria at phylum level were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria, whereas the dominant phylum of fungus was Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Importantly, the relative abundances of Escherichia and Corynebacterium in the broiler houses were greater than those in layer houses. However, the percentages of Aspergillus and Penicillium were 13.5 and 0.56%, with a relatively high level in the layer houses. Altogether, results revealed that the ambient air quality in the poultry houses sampled had a relatively high abundance of conditional pathogenic bacteria and concentration of fine particulate matter, which could threaten the health of animals and workers in those environments.

Ultrasensitive Displacement Noise Measurement of Carbon Nanotube Mechanical Resonators

Mechanical resonators based on a single carbon nanotube are exceptional sensors of mass and force. The force sensitivity in these ultralight resonators is often limited by the noise in the detection of the vibrations. Here, we report on an ultrasensitive scheme based on a RLC resonator and a low-temperature amplifier to detect nanotube vibrations. We also show a new fabrication process of electromechanical nanotube resonators to reduce the separation between the suspended nanotube and the gate electrode down to ∼150 nm. These advances in detection and fabrication allow us to reach [Formula: see text] displacement sensitivity. Thermal vibrations cooled cryogenically at 300 mK are detected with a signal-to-noise ratio as high as 17 dB. We demonstrate [Formula: see text] force sensitivity, which is the best force sensitivity achieved thus far with a mechanical resonator. Our work is an important step toward imaging individual nuclear spins and studying the coupling between mechanical vibrations and electrons in different quantum electron transport regimes.

Development and antimicrobial application of plantaricin BM-1 incorporating a PVDC film on fresh pork meat during cold storage

AIMS

The aim of this study was to develop a plantaricin BM-1, a typical IIa bacteriocin produced by Lactocacillus plantarumBM-1, for active polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) films and to determine the antimicrobial effect of plantaricin BM-1 incorporated into a PVDC film on fresh pork during 7 days of storage at 4°C.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Plantaricin BM-1 solutions (20 480 AU ml^-1 ) that absorbed into the PVDC film increased gradually and reached maximum volumes during exposure for up to 20 h. When soaked in water, the released amount of plantaricin BM-1 from the active PVDC film reached a maximum at 20 h. The plantaricin BM-1 active PVDC film had an obvious antilisterial effect in culture medium and fresh pork inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes. Furthermore, plantaricin BM-1-incorporated PVDC film was also significantly (P < 0·01) reduced to aerobic counts of approximately 1·5 log₁₀ CFU per g after 7 days of storage at 4°C in pork meat, and the pH and total volatile basic nitrogen of pork meat were significantly (P < 0·01, P < 0·05) lower than those of the control.

CONCLUSION

Plantaricin BM-1 active film has an excellent effect to prolong the shelf life of pork meat during cold storage.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The results of this study suggest a potential application of bacteriocin active film on meat preservation.

[An association of ulcerative colitis with tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 15 gene polymorphisms in Chinese patients]

Objective: To explore the relationship between ulcerative colitis (UC) susceptibility and tumor necrosis factor superfamily member (TNFSF) 15 gene polymorphisms and haplotypes in Han nationality in Zhejiang province of China. Methods: A total of 408 UC patients and 574 healthy controls were recruited in this study. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms of TNFSF15 (rs3810936, rs4263839, rs4979462) were examined by improved multiple ligase detection reaction (iMLDR) technique. Analyses of linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype were performed by Haploview 4.2 software in all study subjects. Results: The variant allele A and genotype (GA+AA) of rs4263839 were less frequent in UC patients than in controls (45.34% vs. 50.17%, P=0.035;68.38% vs. 76.66%, P=0.004). According to the severity and location of disease, UC patients were divided into different subgroups. After multiple comparison correction(α=0.012 5), the frequencies of variant allele A and genotype (GA+AA) of rs4263839 were lower in patients with severe UC than in the controls (37.69% vs. 50.17%, P=0.007; 60.00% vs. 76.66%, P=0.004). Similar findings were also drawn for patients with extensive colitis in contrast with the controls (42.22% vs. 50.17%, P=0.009; 63.33% vs. 76.66%, P<0.001). Furthermore, the haplotype analysis indicated that three SNPs above were in a strong LD. The frequency of haplotype TAC was lower in UC patients than in the controls(40.83% vs. 46.04%, P=0.023). Also it was less prevalent in patients with severe UC and patients with extensive colitis when compared with controls respectively (33.38% vs. 46.04%, P=0.005;37.22% vs. 46.04%, P=0.003). Conclusions: TNFSF15 (rs4263839) variation might not only reduce the risk of UC, but also affect the severity and lesion location of UC. The haplotype TAC formed by rs3810936, rs4263839 and rs4979462 might be related to a lower risk of UC, especially in patients with severe colitis or patients with extensive colitis.

Improved performance of quantitative collagen parameters versus standard histology in longitudinal assessment of nonadvanced liver fibrosis for chronic hepatitis B

Monitoring longitudinal nonadvanced fibrosis is a more common scenario in management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), for which, however, current evaluation methods generally lack sufficient performance. We conducted a proof-of-concept study to evaluate the performance of quantitative fibrous collagen parameters (q-FP) in the assessment. Data sets from a prior CHB trial (NCT00962533) with mostly mild-to-moderate fibrosis participants were used for this study. 301 subjects with paired liver biopsies were consecutively included. Of these, 139 subjects were used to establish the test and the rest for internal validation. Fibrosis change between baseline and week 104 of treatment was blindly assessed with q-FP and was compared with Ishak fibrosis staging. There were 70% and 93% subjects with Ishak F0-2 at baseline and week 104, respectively. For the test of the subjects, q-FP and Ishak staging showed no difference in determining the incidence of fibrosis regression (68% vs 67%; difference = 0.7%, P = 1.00). Q-FP demonstrated that the regression was independently associated with the antiviral efficacy endpoint (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.4-6.5, P = .005), but Ishak failed the detection (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3-1.3, P = .24). Moreover, q-FP directly revealed a higher fibrosis-resistance to antiviral treatment in virus genotypes C vs B and in males vs females. These results were confirmed in the validation subjects. Additionally, a functional model built on the test subjects showed an accuracy of 82% in stratifying fibrosis reversibility of the validation subjects. In conclusion, q-FP could have improved efficiency and accuracy in the longitudinal assessment of mild-to-moderate CHB fibrosis, indicating a potential alternative to current evaluation methodologies.

Tuning the electrical and optical anisotropy of a monolayer black phosphorus magnetic superlattice

We investigate theoretically the effects of modulated periodic perpendicular magnetic fields on the electronic states and optical absorption spectrum in monolayer black phosphorus (phosphorene). We demonstrate that different phosphorene magnetic superlattice (PMS) orientations can give rise to distinct energy spectra, i.e. tuning the intrinsic electronic anisotropy. Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) develops a spin-splitting energy dispersion in this phosphorene magnetic superlattice. Anisotropic momentum-dependent carrier distributions along/perpendicular to the magnetic strips are demonstrated. The manipulations of these exotic electronic properties by tuning superlattice geometry, magnetic field and the RSOC term are addressed systematically. Accordingly, we find bright-to-dark transitions in the ground-state electron-hole pair transition rate spectrum and the PMS orientation-dependent anisotropic optical absorption spectrum. This feature offers us a practical way of modulating the electronic anisotropy in phosphorene by magnetic superlattice configurations and detecting this modulation capability by using an optical technique.

Cell therapy of a knee osteoarthritis rat model using precartilaginous stem cells

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effect and mechanism of precartilaginous stem cells (PSCs) engraftment-inducing tissue repair in a knee osteoarthritis (OA) rat model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) model was constructed in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats by partial removal of the medial meniscus of the right knee. PSCs were engrafted by injecting precartilaginous stem cells (PSCs) into the right knee cavity. At 4 and 8 weeks after model construction, the serum levels of interleukine (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-6 were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed to assess the histopathology of synovial membrane and cartilage. Western blot analysis was used to assess Notch1, Bcl-2 and Bax levels in the articular cartilage.

RESULTS

At 4 and 8 weeks, OA rats demonstrated significantly higher IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels than normal rats (p < 0.05), whereas PSCs treatment prominently attenuated IL-1β upregulation (p < 0.05). In OA rats, the number of chondrocytes dramatically decreased over time in OA rats, with disruption of chondrocytes organization and cell layers. PSCs alleviated the deterioration of cartilage, as evidenced by the relatively smooth articular surface, distinct tidemark and clear cell layers. The model and treatment groups demonstrated substantially higher Notch1 expression. The Bcl-2/Bax value in the OA rats was lower than the control group, while PSCs treatment led to increase in Bcl-2/Bax value.

CONCLUSIONS

PSCs treatment downregulated the expression of inflammatory cytokines, alleviating osteoarthritis in the knee of rats. Notch1 signaling pathway plays an important role in this ameliorating effect of PSCs treatment.

Warthin's tumour in oral and maxillofacial regions: an 18-year retrospective study of 1084 cases in an eastern-Chinese population

There is little information in the English-language literature regarding Warthin's tumour (WT) in the eastern-Chinese population. A large retrospective study (1084 primary tumours over a period of 18years) was carried out to investigate the clinicopathological features (patients' gender, age and tumour location) of these tumours in this population. A total of 994 (91.7%) patients were male and 90 (8.3%) were female, with a male/female ratio of 11:1. The mean age was 56.48years (range 20-89years), with a peak incidence in the fifth to seventh decade (82.1%). The favorite primary site of the tumour was the parotid gland (n=1055), followed by intra-/peri-parotid lymph nodes (n=13), upper neck (n=10), submandibular gland (n=4) and upper lip (n=1). Multifocal WTs arose in 9.5% (103 patients) of cases whereas bilateral multifocal WTs were found in 0.65% (seven patients). In 24 (2.2%) patients, WT were found to coexist with other different types of neoplasm synchronously. The most common subtype of metaplasia was the squamous metaplasia (166/250, 66.4%). The usual treatment measure is (bilateral) superficial parotidectomy and the patients should be followed long term, in view of possible metachronous WT, even after prolonged time intervals.