[Effect and mechanism of low-dose chidamide on the treatment of primary immune thrombocytopenia]

目的

探讨低剂量（0.1 mg/kg）西达本胺治疗原发免疫性血小板减少症（ITP）的作用及机制。

方法

①应用C57BL/6J小鼠建立ITP被动模型，灌胃给予0、0.01、0.1、0.5、5.0 mg/kg西达本胺，观察治疗前后ITP小鼠模型外周血血小板计数。②应用C57BL/6J小鼠建立ITP主动模型，灌胃给予0.1 mg/kg西达本胺，观察治疗前后ITP小鼠模型外周血血小板计数；4周后处死小鼠，流式细胞术检测脾细胞中CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺自然调节性T细胞（nTreg）比例并应用ELISA方法检测小鼠外周血IL-6水平。③分离ITP患者外周血单个核细胞，与低剂量西达本胺共培养72 h后检测nTreg细胞比例；免疫磁珠法分离CD4⁺CD25⁺调节性T细胞（Treg细胞）以及CD4⁺CD25⁻效应T细胞，将二者以1∶4比例混合共培养，加入低剂量西达本胺干预，检测Treg细胞对效应T细胞增殖的抑制作用。

结果

①低剂量西达本胺可明显提高ITP被动模型鼠外周血血小板水平。②低剂量西达本胺可显著提高ITP动物模型外周血血小板水平，降低出血相关死亡率。③低剂量西达本胺可显著提高ITP动物模型脾细胞中nTreg比例、降低血清IL-6水平。④低剂量西达本胺可显著提高ITP患者外周血单个核细胞培养体系中nTreg细胞比例、增强Treg细胞对效应T细胞增殖的抑制作用。

结论

低剂量西达本胺可促进nTreg生成、增强Treg细胞的免疫抑制功能、降低IL-6水平，促进免疫耐受，对ITP有较好的治疗作用。

miR-143-3p inhibits proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by regulating its target gene FGF1

PURPOSE

To explore FGF1 and miR-143-3p expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and its related mechanisms.

METHODS

Eighty-two HCC patients treated at our hospital from January 2018 to January 2019 were enrolled as Group A, while further 80 healthy people undergoing physical examinations during the same time period were enrolled as Group B. HCC cells and normal human liver cells were purchased, with HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-FGF1, si-FGF1, NC, miR-143-3p-inhibitor and miR-143-3p-mimics. FGF1 and miR-143-3p expression was detected by qRT-PCR. The expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, Snail, Slug, E-cadherin and γ-catenin was detected by Western Blotting (WB). Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. Cell invasion was detected by Transwell. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry (FCM).

RESULTS

FGF1 was highly expressed but miR-143-3p was poorly expressed in HCC cells. Areas under the curves (AUCs) of the two indicators were > 0.8. The indicators were correlated with the age, gender, tumor invasion, degree of differentiation, tumor location and TNM staging of the patients. Silencing FGF1 and overexpressing miR-143-3p could promote cell apoptosis, inhibit cell growth, cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, Snail and Slug, and increase the expression of E-cadherin and γ-catenin. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay (DLRGA) confirmed that FGF1 and miR-143-3p had a targeted relationship. The rescue experiment showed that the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells in the miR-143-3p-mimics+pcDNA3.1-FGF1 and miR-143-3p-inhibitor+Si-FGF1 groups were not different from those in the miR-NC group.

CONCLUSION

Inhibiting FGF1 can upregulate miR-143-3p-mediated Hedgehog signaling pathway, and affect cells' EMT, proliferation and invasion, so FGF1 is expected to become a potential therapeutic target for HCC.

Development of a quartz crystal microbalance diagnostic for measuring material erosion and deposition on the first wall in EAST

A quartz crystal microbalance (QMB) diagnostic system has been established in Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) for real-time and in situ measurements of erosion and deposition rates of plasma-facing materials at the first wall. A ∼70 nm aluminum (Al) film has been coated on the QMB crystal surface to measure the erosion rate by charge exchange neutral particles. Dual sensors of the QMB system have been used with a closed sensor for reference. The stability and light sensitivity of the QMB system have been tested in the lab, demonstrating its feasibility on the application of EAST experiments. The QMB system with cooling water has been successfully applied in the 2018 EAST campaign. The net erosion thickness measured by the QMB has been well validated by thickness measurements using the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The developed QMB systems can help us to understand the physics processes of material erosion and deposition at main chamber walls for long pulse operations in EAST.

OP0287 A MACHINE LEARNING APPROACH FOR PRECISION STRATIFICATION OF JUVENILE-ONSET SLE

Background:

Juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) is a complex and heterogeneous disease characterised by diagnosis and treatment delays. An unmet need exists to better characterise the immunological profile of JSLE patients and investigate its links with the disease trajectory over time.

Objectives:

A machine learning (ML) approach was applied to explore new diagnostic signatures for JSLE based on immune-phenotyping data and stratify patients by specific immune characteristics to investigate longitudinal clinical outcome.

Methods:

Immune-phenotyping of 28 T-cell, B-cell and myeloid-cell subsets in 67 age and sex-matched JSLE patients and 39 healthy controls (HCs) was performed by flow cytometry. A balanced random forest (BRF) ML predictive model was developed (10,000 decision trees). 10-fold cross validation, Sparse Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (sPLS-DA) and logistic regression was used to validate the model. Longitudinal clinical data were related to the immunological features identified by ML analysis.

Results:

The BRF-model discriminated JSLE patients from healthy controls with 91% prediction accuracy suggesting that JSLE patients could be distinguished from HCs with high confidence using immunological parameters. The top-ranked immunological features from the BRF-model were confirmed using sPLS-DA and logistic regression and included CD19+ unswitched memory B-cells, naïve B-cells, CD14+monocytes and total CD4+, CD8+and memory T-cell subsets.

K-mean clustering was applied to stratify patients using the validated signature. Four groups were identified, each with a distinct immune and clinical profile. Notably, CD8+T-cell subsets were important in driving patient stratification while B-cell markers were similarly expressed across the JSLE cohort. JSLE patients with elevated effector memory CD8+T-cell frequencies had more persistently active disease over time, and this was associated with increased treatment burden and prevalence of lupus nephritis. Finally, network analysis identified specific clinical features associated with each of the top JSLE immune-signature variables.

Conclusion:

Using a combined ML approach, a distinct immune signature was identified that discriminated between JSLE patients and HCs and further stratified patients. This signature could have diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Further immunological association studies are warranted to develop data-driven personalised medicine approaches for JSLE.

Acknowledgments:

Lupus UK, Rosetrees Trust, Versus Arthritis

Disclosure of Interests:

George Robinson: None declared, Junjie Peng: None declared, Pierre Dönnes: None declared, Leda Coelewij: None declared, Meena Naja: None declared, Anna Radziszewska: None declared, Chris Wincup: None declared, Hannah Peckham: None declared, David Isenberg Consultant of: Study Investigator and Consultant to Genentech, Yiannis Ioannou: None declared, Ines Pineda Torra: None declared, Coziana Ciurtin Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Consultant of: Roche, Modern Biosciences, Elizabeth Jury: None declared

Self-Assembled Nanoparticles Prepared from Low-Molecular-Weight PEI and Low-Generation PAMAM for EGFRvIII-Chimeric Antigen Receptor Gene Loading and T-Cell Transient Modification

Background

The complex preparation procedures and severe toxicities are two major obstacles facing the wide use of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (CAR-T) cells in clinical cancer immunotherapy. The nanotechnology-based T cell temporary CAR modification may be a potential approach to solve these problems and make the CAR-T cell-based tumor therapy feasible and broadly applicable.

Methods

A series of plasmid DNA-loaded self-assembled nanoparticles (pDNA@SNPs^x/y) prepared from adamantane-grafted polyamidoamine (Ad-PAMAM) dendrimers of different generations (G1 or G5) and cyclodextrin-grafted branched polyethylenimine (CD-PEI) of different molecular weights (800, 2000, or 25,000 Da) were characterized and evaluated. The detailed physicochemical properties, cellular interaction, and cytotoxicity of selected pDNA@SNP^G1/800 were systematically investigated. Thereafter, the epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) CAR-expression plasmid vector (pEGFRvIII-CAR) was constructed and encapsulated into SNP^G1/800. The resulting pEGFRvIII-CAR@SNP^G1/800 was used for Jurkat cell transient transfection, and the EGFRvIII-CAR expressed in transfected cells was measured by flow cytometry and Western blot. Finally, the response of EGFRvIII CAR-positive Jurkat T cell to target tumor cell was evaluated.

Results

The pDNA@SNP^G1/800 showed the highest efficacy in Jurkat cell gene transfection and exhibited low cytotoxicity. pEGFRvIII-CAR@SNP^G1/800 can efficiently deliver pEGFRvIII-CAR into Jurkat T cells, thereby resulting in transient EGFRvIII-CAR expression in transfected cells. EGFRvIII-CAR that is present on the cell membrane enabled Jurkat T cells to recognize and bind specifically with EGFRvIII-positive tumor cells.

Conclusion

These results indicated that pEGFRvIII-CAR@SNP^G1/800 can effectively achieve T-cell transient CAR modification, thereby demonstrating considerable potential in CAR-T cancer therapy.

Identification of differential gene expression related to epirubicin-induced cardiomyopathy in breast cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Epirubicin is a potent chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of breast cancer. However, it may lead to cardiotoxicity and cardiomyopathy, and no reliable biomarker was available for the early prediction of epirubicin-induced cardiomyopathy.

METHODS

Global gene expression changes of peripheral blood cells were studied using high-throughput RNA sequencing in three pair-matched breast cancer patients (patients who developed symptomatic cardiomyopathy paired with patients who did not) before and after the full session of epirubicin-based chemotherapy. Functional analysis was conducted using gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis.

RESULTS

We identified 13 significantly differentially expressed genes between patients who developed symptomatic epirubicin-induced cardiomyopathy and their paired control who did not. Among them, the upregulated Bcl-associated X protein was related to "apoptosis," while the downregulated 5'-aminolevulinate synthase 2 (ALAS2) was related to both "glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism" and "porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism" in pathway enrichment analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

ALAS2 and the metabolic pathways which were involved may play an important role in the development of epirubicin-induced cardiomyopathy. ALAS2 may be useful as an early biomarker for epirubicin-induced cardiotoxicity detection.

Exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells improve osteoporosis through promoting osteoblast proliferation via MAPK pathway

OBJECTIVE

Osteoporosis is the most common bone metabolic disease. Exosome exerts a crucial role in the development of multiple diseases. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of exosome derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in osteoporosis and its underlying mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MSCs were first isolated from rat bone marrow. After the surface antigen of MSCs was identified by flow cytometry, MSCs-derived exosomes (MSC-Exo) was extracted. The osteogenic and lipid differentiation abilities of BMSCs were determined by alizarin red staining and oil red staining, respectively. Quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expressions of genes. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect the viability of hFOB 1.19 cells. Western blot was used to measure expressions of the specific surface markers in exosomes and the MAPK pathway-related proteins in hFOB 1.19 cells. Moreover, cell cycle of hFOB 1.19 was detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTS

We observed a positive identification of surface antigens in MSCs, which presented good multidirectional differentiation ability. The isolated MSC-Exo exhibited typical morphology and particle size of exosomes, and the detection of specific surface labeled protein was positive under an electron microscope. After co-culture of MSC-Exo and osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19, we found that MSC-Exo could promote the proliferation of hFOB 1.19 cells. Moreover, mRNA and protein expressions of GLUT3 in cells were increased, and the cell cycle was also promoted. The expressions of related proteins in the MAPK signaling pathway were found to be promoted. Rescue experiments demonstrated that MSC-Exo could promote the growth and cell cycle of hFOB 1.19, which were reversed by p-JNK knockdown.

CONCLUSIONS

MSC-derived exosomes improve osteoporosis by promoting the proliferation of osteoblasts via MAPK pathway.

[Anatomical relationship between fascia propria of the rectum and visceral pelvic fascia in the view of continuity of fasciae]

Objective: To perform an anatomical observation on the extension of the mesocolon to the mesorectum and the continuity of the fasciae lining the abdomen and pelvis, in order to clarify the appropriate surgical plane of total mesorectal excision. Methods: This is an descriptive study. The operation videos of 61 cases (28 males, 33 females, median age of 61) were collected. All the patients underwent laparoscopic colorectal surgery from January 2018 to December 2018 in Yangpu Hospital, including low anterior resection for rectal cancer in 25 cases, left hemicolectomy for descending colon cancer in 15 cases, and subtotal resection of the colon for intractable constipation in 21 cases. Among these 21 constipation patients, 8 received additional modified Duhamel surgeries. Gross anatomy was performed on 24 adult cadavers provided by Department of Anatomy, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, including 23 formalin-fixed and 1 fresh cadaver (12 males, 12 females). Sixty-one patients and 24 cadavers had no previous abdominal or pelvic surgical history. The anatomy and extension of fasciae related to descending colon, sigmoid colon and rectum, especially the morphology of Toldt fascia, and the continuities of mesocolon and mesorectum were observed carefully. The distribution characteristics of the fasciae and anatomical landmarks during laparoscopic surgery were recorded and described. Results: The anatomical study on 24 cadavers showed that visceral fascia was the densest connective tissue in the pelvic, posterolateral to the rectum, and stretched as a hammock to lift all pelvic organs. Among 61 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery, 36 (59.0%) needed to free the left colon during operation, and Toldt fascia in the descending colon segment presented as potential, avascular and extensible loose connective tissue plane between the mesocolon and posterior Gerota fascia; 33 (54.1%) needed to free the rectum during operation, and Toldt fascia extended downward to pelvis as loose connective tissue between the fascia propria of the rectum and visceral fascia; the fascia propria of the rectum exposed completely in 32 (32/33, 97.0%) cases, which ran downward and fused with visceral fascia at the level of the fourth sacral vertebra. The anatomy of 24 cadavers also showed that fascia propria of the rectum fused with visceral fascia at the level of Waldeyer fascia. The fusion line of these two fasciae was supposed to be the extension of Waldeyer fascia. There were two avascular planes behind the rectum: one between the fascia propria of the rectum and visceral fascia, and the other between the visceral fascia and parietal fascia. In 8 constipation cases undergoing laparoscopic subtotal colon resection plus modified Duhamel operation, both mesocolon and mesorectum needed to be mobilized. It was obvious that the mesocolon of descending colon extended and became the mesocolon of sigmoid colon, and ran further into the pelvic and became the mesorectum. The colon fascia of descending colon served as the natural boundary of mesocolon extended downward as the fascia of sigmoid colon and the fascia propria of the rectum, respectively. Toldt fascia locating between mesocolon of descending colon and Gerota fascia extended to pelvis as the 'presacral space' between the fascia propria of the rectum and visceral fascia. Gerota fascia in descending colon segment extended as urogenital fascia in sigmoid colon segment and visceral fascia in the pelvis, respectively. In the cadaver anatomy study, the visceral fascia served as a corridor carrying the hypogastric nerve, and ureter was observed in 23 (23/24, 95.8%) cases. The visceral fascia passed from posterior to anterior lateral of rectum, fusing with Denonvilliers fascia in a fan shape. The pelvic plexus located exactly external to the junction of visceral fascia and Denonvilliers fascia. Pelvic splanchnic nerves went through the parietal fascia toward to the inferolateral of the pelvic plexus. Conclusion: Fascia propria of the rectum and the visceral pelvic fascia are two independent layers of fascia, and the TME surgical plane is between the fascia propria of the rectum and visceral pelvic fascia instead of between the visceral and the parietal pelvic fascia.

An international survey of healthcare providers' knowledge of cardiac complications of cancer treatments

Background

Cardio-oncology is a young sub-specialty that addresses the needs of cancer patients at risk of, or who have experienced cancer therapy related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD). This study assessed clinicians' understanding of cardio-oncology, opinions towards current practice, and approach to diagnosing and managing CTRCD.

Methods

A 45-question survey was administered online via Survey Monkey and WeChat to health care providers (HCPs) comprising of cardiologists, oncologists, and others from September 2017 to March 2018. Implementation of the survey followed a modified Dillman's Total Design Method.

Results

In total, 160 responses were collected from 22 countries; majority were from cardiologists (53.8%) and oncologists (32.5%). The remaining 13.7% identified themselves as "others," including general internists, cardio-oncologists, pediatric oncologists, radiation oncologists, cardiac rehabilitation therapists, nurse practitioners, research students, and pharmacists. In the setting of metastatic cancer, there was a difference in risk tolerance for cardiotoxicity between subspecialties. In this case, more cardiologists (36.7%) accepted a 5-10% risk of cardiotoxicity compared to oncologists (20.0%). Majority of cardiologists felt that cardiotoxicity should be monitored, even in asymptomatic cancer patients (55.8%). Only 12% of oncologists selected this response. In contrast, 50.0% of oncologists reported that cardiologists should be involved only when patients develop cardiotoxicity. In comparison, 6.5% of cardiologists selected this response. Majority of cardiologists stated that cardio-oncology clinics would significantly improve cancer patients' prognosis (88.3%); only 45.8% of oncologists shared this opinion. Of all respondents, 66.9% stated they were familiar with a variety of international guidelines for managing cardiotoxicity. Of all oncologists, 65.3% indicated that they referred to these guidelines for clinical decision making.

Conclusions

Despite the growth of cardio-oncology clinics, there are significant knowledge gaps regarding prevention and treatment strategies for CTRCD among health care providers. Knowledge translation from guidelines and collaboration between cardiologists and oncologists are needed to improve cardiovascular outcomes of cancer patients.

[Establishment of a nomogram model for predicting lymph node metastasis in patients with cN0 gastric cancer based on combination of preoperative C-reactive protein/albumin ratio]

Objective: To investigate the relationship between systemic inflammatory markers such as neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), and lymph node metastasis in patients with cN0 gastric cancer. To establish a nomogram model to predict the risk of lymph node metastasis in patients with cN0 gastric cancer. Methods: The preoperative systemic inflammatory markers and clinical data of 134 patients with cN0 gastric cancer were retrospectively analyzed, and these markers of patients with negative (pN0) or positive (pN+ ) lymph node metastasis in postoperative pathological diagnosis were compared. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive effect of preoperative systemic inflammatory markers on lymph node metastasis. The influencing factors for lymph node metastasis were assessed by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis. A nomogram subsequently established by R software was validated by Bootstrap resampling as internal validation. Results: Compared with pN0 group, NE (P=0.022), CRP (P<0.001), NLR (P<0.001), PLR (P=0.003) and CAR (P<0.001) were higher, LY (P=0.003) and Alb (P=0.042) were lower in pN+ group. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of postoperative pathological lymph node metastasis in patients with cN0 gastric cancer diagnosed by NLR, PLR and CAR were 0.687, 0.651 and 0.694, respectively, and the best cutoff values were 2.12, 113.59 and 0.02, respectively. The corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 62.9% and 72.2%, 77.4% and 48.6%, 74.2% and 58.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that tumor size, depth of invasion, NLR, PLR and CAR were associated with lymph node metastasis in cN0 gastric cancer patients (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that depth of invasion, NLR and CAR were independent influencing factors of lymph node metastasis in patients with cN0 gastric cancer. OR were 8.084, 3.540 and 3.092, respectively (all P<0.05). The C-index of the nomogram model was 0.847 (95% CI: 0.782-0.915). The predicting calibration curve was properly fit with the ideal curve in calibration chart. Conclusion: Combination of NLR and CAR to establish a nomogram model has a good consistency and can accurately predict the risk of lymph node metastasis in patients with cN0 gastric cancer.

Periostin concentrations in childhood-onset craniopharyngioma patients

PURPOSE

Periostin is highly expressed in craniopharyngioma (CP)-associated fibroblasts and has been identified as a marker for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Half of CP patients with hypothalamic syndrome develop NAFLD. We hypothesized that periostin concentration is elevated in biological fluids of CP and associated with pathological hepatic parameters, indicating increased risk for NAFLD.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study on 35 patients with sellar masses (SMP) recruited in the German Childhood Craniopharyngioma Registry (32 CP, 2 xanthogranuloma, 1 pilocytic astrocytoma), three short-statured patients with isolated growth hormone deficiency, five short-statured patients with normal findings in GH-stimulating tests and decreased insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and seven healthy controls. Periostin was measured by Elisa in serum, urine and saliva.

RESULTS

Periostin serum, urine and saliva concentrations in CP were similar to concentrations of the other groups. Hypothalamic involvement/hypothalamic lesions, degree of obesity as well as hepatic enzymes were not associated with elevated periostin concentrations. Due to low patient numbers with pathological hepatic parameters, missing imaging data on the degree of steatosis hepatis and the lack of histological proof of NAFLD, no definitive conclusions can be drawn from measured periostin concentrations in serum. Interestingly, the subgroup of patients with decreased IGF-1 levels showed elevated concentrations of serum periostin when compared with other groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In CP, periostin concentrations are not associated with known risk factors for NAFLD such as hepatic and metabolic parameters, obesity and hypothalamic lesions. Accordingly, periostin does not seem to be a suitable marker for NAFLD in CP.

[The effect of arthroscopic synovectomy on refractory knee arthritis with popliteal cyst in 153 patients]

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of arthroscopic synovectomy on refractory knee arthritis complicated with popliteal cyst. Methods: Patients diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or spondyloarthritis (SpA) with refractory knee arthritis who underwent knee arthroscopic synovectomy in our hospital from 2010 to 2017 were enrolled, including 20 patients (16 RA, 4 SpA) with popliteal cyst. Clinical data, RA disease activity score (DAS28), SpA back pain score, etc, were collected to evaluate the efficacy of knee surgery. Results: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) [58(17, 79)mm/1h vs. 19(9, 30)mm/1h, P< 0.001],C reactive protein (CRP) [3.72(0.92,8.14) mg/L vs. 0.85(0.10,3.08) mg/L,P<0.001], rheumatoid factor [64.6(20.2,193.3) vs. 20.5(10.0,58.4),P<0.001], DAS28 score(4.67±1.25 vs. 2.81±1.23,P<0.001), knee joint discomfort score [5(4,6) vs. 2(1,3),P<0.001] and the volume of knee joint effusion by ultrasound (P<0.05) in 95 RA patients were significantly decreased compared to those before operation. ESR [27(12,54)mm/1h vs. 20 (16,28) mm/1 h,P<0.001], CRP [3.27(1.06,6.95) mg/L vs. 1.41(0.34,3.03)mg/L,P<0.001],knee discomfort score [2(0,5) vs. 1(0,3),P<0.05], back pain visual analogue score (VAS) [5(4,5) vs. 2(1,3), P<0.001], and the volume of knee joint effusion by ultrasound (P<0.001) in 58 SpA patients were significantly lower than those before the operation.The rate [16.84%(16/95) vs. 6.32%(6/95),P=0.023] and grading (P=0.007) of popliteal cyst in RA were decreased after the operation. No statistically difference was observed in the rate [6.90% (4/58) vs. 5.17%(3/58), P=0.697] of popliteal cyst in patients with SpA, yet with a trend of decrease in 4 patients. Conclusion: This study provide evidence that knee arthroscopic synovectomy has a good effect for refractory knee arthritis, which can reduce disease activity, improve joint symptoms and decrease the grading of popliteal cyst.

Insulator-metal transition induced by electric voltage in a ruthenate Mott insulator

We report the observation of electric-voltage induced insulator-metal phase transition in a ruthenate Mott insulator Ca₃(Ru_0.9Ti_0.1)₂O₇. We show that the electric field effect dominates and leads to a sharp phase transition at measurement temperatures far below the Mott transition, whereas the thermal effect becomes more significant and broadens the phase transition as the measurement temperature approaches the insulator-metal transition. The electric field induced insulator-metal transition is presumably attributed to the avalanche breakdown of the correlated insulating state when driven out of equilibrium. This work highlights the strategy of using electric voltage to control the phase transition of this system in addition to other nonthermal parameters such as magnetic field and pressure reported previously.

[Clinical effect and safety of pegylated interferon-α-2b injection (Y shape, 40 kD) in treatment of HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients]

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect and safety of long-acting pegylated interferon-α-2b (Peg-IFN-α-2b) (Y shape, 40 kD) injection (180 μg/week) in the treatment of HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, with standard-dose Peg-IFN-α-2a as positive control. Methods: This study was a multicenter, randomized, open-label, and positive-controlled phase III clinical trial. Eligible HBeAg-positive CHB patients were screened out and randomized to Peg-IFN-α-2b (Y shape, 40 kD) trial group and Peg-IFN-α-2a control group at a ratio of 2:1. The course of treatment was 48 weeks and the patients were followed up for 24 weeks after drug withdrawal. Plasma samples were collected at screening, baseline, and 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 weeks for centralized detection. COBAS® Ampliprep/COBAS® TaqMan® HBV Test was used to measure HBV DNA level by quantitative real-time PCR. Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay with Elecsys kit was used to measure HBV markers (HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe). Adverse events were recorded in detail. The primary outcome measure was HBeAg seroconversion rate after the 24-week follow-up, and non-inferiority was also tested. The difference in HBeAg seroconversion rate after treatment between the trial group and the control group and two-sided confidence interval (CI) were calculated, and non-inferiority was demonstrated if the lower limit of 95% CI was > -10%. The t-test, chi-square test, or rank sum test was used according to the types and features of data. Results: A total of 855 HBeAg-positive CHB patients were enrolled and 820 of them received treatment (538 in the trial group and 282 in the control group). The data of the full analysis set showed that HBeAg seroconversion rate at week 72 was 27.32% in the trial group and 22.70% in the control group with a rate difference of 4.63% (95% CI -1.54% to 10.80%, P = 0.1493). The data of the per-protocol set showed that HBeAg seroconversion rate at week 72 was 30.75% in the trial group and 27.14% in the control group with a rate difference of 3.61% (95% CI -3.87% to 11.09%, P = 0.3436). 95% CI met the non-inferiority criteria, and the trial group was non-inferior to the control group. The two groups had similar incidence rates of adverse events, serious adverse events, and common adverse events. Conclusion: In Peg-IFN-α regimen for HBeAg-positive CHB patients, the new drug Peg-IFN-α-2b (Y shape, 40 kD) has comparable effect and safety to the control drug Peg-IFN-α-2a.