α1 and β3 adrenergic receptor-mediated excitatory effects of adrenaline on the caudal neurosecretory system (CNSS) in olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus

Adrenaline is one of the most important neurotransmitters in the central nervous system and is produced during stress. In this study, we investigated the modulatory role of adrenaline and adrenergic receptors on the neuroendocrine Dahlgren cells in the caudal neurosecretory system (CNSS) of olive flounder. Ex vivo electrophysiological recordings revealed that adrenaline significantly increased the firing frequency and altered the firing pattern of Dahlgren cells. Moreover, treatment with adrenaline led to a significant upregulation of ion channels and major hormone secretion genes in CNSS at the mRNA levels. Additionally, treatment with adrenaline resulted in a significantly elevation in the expression levels of α1- and β3-adrenergic receptors. Furthermore, the β3-adrenergic receptor antagonist exerts a significant inhibitory effect on adrenaline-induced enhancement firing activities of Dahlgren cells, whereas the α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist displays a comparatively weaker inhibitory effect. Additionally, the enhanced firing activity induced by adrenaline could be effectively suppressed by both α1- and β3-adrenergic receptor antagonists. Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence in favor of the excitatory effects of adrenaline through α1 and β3 adrenergic receptors in CNSS to stimulate the secretion of stress-related hormones, β3-adrenergic receptor plays a more dominant role in the modulation of firing activities of Dahlgren cells by adrenaline and thereby regulates the stress response in olive flounder.

Intelligently Quantifying the Entire Irregular Dental Structure

Quantitative analysis of irregular anatomical structures is crucial in oral medicine, but clinicians often typically measure only several representative indicators within the structure as references. Deep learning semantic segmentation offers the potential for entire quantitative analysis. However, challenges persist, including segmentation difficulties due to unclear boundaries and acquiring measurement landmarks for clinical needs in entire quantitative analysis. Taking the palatal alveolar bone as an example, we proposed an artificial intelligence measurement tool for the entire quantitative analysis of irregular dental structures. To expand the applicability, we have included lightweight networks with fewer parameters and lower computational demands. Our approach finally used the lightweight model LU-Net, addressing segmentation challenges caused by unclear boundaries through a compensation module. Additional enamel segmentation was conducted to establish a measurement coordinate system. Ultimately, we presented the entire quantitative information within the structure in a manner that meets clinical needs. The tool achieved excellent segmentation results, manifested by high Dice coefficients (0.934 and 0.949), intersection over union (0.888 and 0.907), and area under the curve (0.943 and 0.949) for palatal alveolar bone and enamel in the test set. In subsequent measurements, the tool visualizes the quantitative information within the target structure by scatter plots. When comparing the measurements against representative indicators, the tool's measurement results show no statistically significant difference from the ground truth, with small mean absolute error, root mean squared error, and errors interval. Bland-Altman plots and intraclass correlation coefficients indicate the satisfactory agreement compared with manual measurements. We proposed a novel intelligent approach to address the entire quantitative analysis of irregular image structures in the clinical setting. This contributes to enabling clinicians to swiftly and comprehensively grasp structural features, facilitating the design of more personalized treatment plans for different patients, enhancing clinical efficiency and treatment success rates in turn.

Switch from fight-flight to freeze-hide: The impacts of severe stress and brain serotonin on behavioral adaptations in flatfish

Animals often experience changes in their environment that can be perceived as stressful. Previous evidence indicates that different individuals may have distinct stress responses. The role of serotonin (5-HT) in stress adaptation is well established, but its relationship with different defense strategies and the persistence of physiological and behavioral responses in different individuals during repeated acute stress remain unclear. In this study, using olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) as a model, we analyzed the relationship between boldness and neurotransmitter 5-HT activity. We found that 5-HT suppression with 5-HT synthesis inhibitor p-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA) and 5-HT receptor subtype 1A (5-HT1A) antagonist WAY-100635 increased their oxygen consumption rates and the boldness of shy individuals. We determined the metabolic and behavioral changes in bold and shy individuals to repeated acute stress. The results suggest that bold individuals switch on passive "energy-saving" personality by changing their defense behavior from "fight-flight" to "freeze-hide" during a threat encounter, which manifests high behavioral plasticity. Both behavioral types decreased their spontaneous activity levels, which were also strengthened by limiting metabolic rate. Interestingly, treatment with pCPA and WAY-100635 before stress procedure attenuated stress and increased the boldness across diverse behavioral types. This study provides the initial empirical evidence of how perception of stress impacts both individual defense behavior and personality in this species. These findings can enhance our comprehension of individual variability and behavioral plasticity in animals, thereby improving our ability to develop effective adaptive management strategies.

Effect and Mechanism of LIN28 on Ferroptosis in Mg2+-free Rat Hippocampal Neuron Model of Epilepsy

Studies have demonstrated that LIN28 is expressed in the CNS and may exert protective effects on neurons. However, it remains unknown whether LIN28 regulates ferroptosis in the context of epilepsy. In this study, we established an epilepsy model by culturing hippocampal neurons from rats in a magnesium-free (Mg2+-free) medium. In Mg2+-depleted conditions, hippocampal neurons exhibited reduced LIN28 expression, heightened miR-142-5p expression, decreased glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity and expression, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), resulting in a significant decline in cell viability and an increase in ferroptosis. Conversely, overexpression of LIN28 reversed these trends in the mentioned indices. Altogether, this study reveals that LIN28 may exert neuroprotective effects by inhibiting the miR-142-5p expression and suppressing ferroptosis in hippocampal neurons induced by Mg2+-free via increasing GPX4 expression.

A Cholecystokinin Analogue Ameliorates Cognitive Deficits and Regulates Mitochondrial Dynamics via the AMPK/Drp1 Pathway in APP/PS1 Mice

BACKGROUND

There are no drugs on the market that can reverse or slow Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression. A protease-resistant Cholecystokinin (CCK) analogue used in this study is based on the basic structure of CCK, which further increases the stability of the peptide fragment and prolongs its half-life in vivo. We observed a neuroprotective effect of CCK-8L in APPswe/PS1dE9 (APP/PS1) AD mice. However, its corresponding mechanisms still need to be elucidated.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined CCK-8L's neuroprotective effects in enhancing cognitive impairment by regulating mitochondrial dynamics through AMPK/Drp1 pathway in the APP/PS1 AD mice.

METHODS

Behavioural tests are applied to assess competence in cognitive functions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was performed to observe the ultrastructure of mitochondria of hippocampal neurons, Immunofluorescent staining was employed to assay for Aβ1-42, APP, Adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and dynamin-related protein1 (Drp1). CRISPR/Cas9 was utilized for targeted knockout of the CCKB receptor (CCKBR) in the mouse APP/PS1 hippocampal CA1 region. A model of lentiviral vector-mediated overexpression of APP in N2a cells was constructed.

RESULTS

In vivo, experiments revealed that CCK analogue and liraglutide significantly alleviated cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice, reduced Aβ1-42 expression, and ameliorated l damage, which is associated with CCKBR activation in the hippocampal CA1 region of mice. In vitro tests showed that CCK inhibited mitochondrial fission and promoted fusion through AMPK/Drp1 pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

CCK analogue ameliorates cognitive deficits and regulates mitochondrial dynamics by activating the CCKB receptor and the AMPK/Drp1 pathway in AD mice.

Promising effects of β-glucans on gelation in protein-based products: A review

Gel property is one of the most important abilities to endow protein-based food products with a unique texture and higher overall acceptability. Cereal β-glucan (BG) is widely applied in protein-based products to improve the stability of the protein gel by increasing water holding capacity, storage modulus (G'), loss modulus (G") and linking with protein through more exposed sites, making it easier to form a stronger three-dimensional gel network. In addition, BG may be cross-linked with proteins, or physically embedded and covered in protein network structures, interacting with proteins mainly through non-covalent bonds including hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction. Furthermore, the transition of the α-helix to the β-form in the protein secondary structure also contributes to the stability of the protein gel. The practical applications of BG from different cereals in protein-based products are summarized, and the rheological properties, microstructure of protein as well as the underlying interaction mechanisms between BG and protein are discussed. In conclusion, cereal BG is a promising polysaccharide in developing nutritional protein-based products with better sensory properties.

Molybdenum Nanodots for Acute Lung Injury Therapy

Acute respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS) is a common critical disease with high morbidity and mortality rates, yet specific and effective treatments for it are currently lacking. ARDS was especially apparent and rampant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and an uncontrolled inflammatory response play a critical role in the disease progression of ARDS. Herein, we developed molybdenum nanodots (MNDs) as a functional nanomaterial with ultrasmall size, good biocompatibility, and excellent ROS scavenging ability for the treatment of acute lung injury (ALI). MNDs, which were administered intratracheally, significantly ameliorated lung oxidative stress, inflammatory response, protein permeability, and histological severity in ALI mice without inducing any safety issues. Importantly, transcriptomics analysis indicated that MNDs protected lung tissues by inhibiting the activation of the Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3)-dependent pyroptotic pathway. This work presents a promising therapeutic agent for patients suffering from ARDS.

Fate of Quasiparticles at High Temperature in the Correlated Metal Sr_{2}RuO_{4}

We study the temperature evolution of quasiparticles in the correlated metal Sr_{2}RuO_{4}. Our angle resolved photoemission data show that quasiparticles persist up to temperatures above 200 K, far beyond the Fermi liquid regime. Extracting the quasiparticle self-energy, we demonstrate that the quasiparticle residue Z increases with increasing temperature. Quasiparticles eventually disappear on approaching the bad metal state of Sr_{2}RuO_{4} not by losing weight but via excessive broadening from super-Planckian scattering. We further show that the Fermi surface of Sr_{2}RuO_{4}-defined as the loci where the spectral function peaks-deflates with increasing temperature. These findings are in semiquantitative agreement with dynamical mean field theory calculations.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the KCS gene family in soybean (Glycine max) reveal their potential roles in response to abiotic stress

Very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) are fatty acids with chain lengths of 20 or more carbon atoms, which are the building blocks of various lipids that regulate developmental processes and plant stress responses. 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthase encoded by the KCS gene is the key rate-limiting enzyme in VLCFA biosynthesis, but the KCS gene family in soybean (Glycine max) has not been adequately studied thus far. In this study, 31 KCS genes (namely GmKCS1 - GmKCS31) were identified in the soybean genome, which are unevenly distributed on 14 chromosomes. These GmKCS genes could be phylogenetically classified into seven groups. A total of 27 paralogous GmKCS gene pairs were identified with their Ka/Ks ratios indicating that they had undergone purifying selection during soybean genome expansion. Cis-acting element analysis revealed that GmKCS promoters contained multiple hormone- and stress-responsive elements, indicating that GmKCS gene expression levels may be regulated by various developmental and environmental stimuli. Expression profiles derived from RNA-seq data and qRT-PCR experiments indicated that GmKCS genes were diversely expressed in different organs/tissues, and many GmKCS genes were found to be differentially expressed in the leaves under cold, heat, salt, and drought stresses, suggesting their critical role in soybean resistance to abiotic stress. These results provide fundamental information about the soybean KCS genes and will aid in their further functional elucidation and exploitation.

Hidden magnetism uncovered in a charge ordered bilayer kagome material ScV6Sn6

Charge ordered kagome lattices have been demonstrated to be intriguing platforms for studying the intertwining of topology, correlation, and magnetism. The recently discovered charge ordered kagome material ScV6Sn6 does not feature a magnetic groundstate or excitations, thus it is often regarded as a conventional paramagnet. Here, using advanced muon-spin rotation spectroscopy, we uncover an unexpected hidden magnetism of the charge order. We observe an enhancement of the internal field width sensed by the muon ensemble, which takes place within the charge ordered state. More importantly, the muon spin relaxation rate below the charge ordering temperature is substantially enhanced by applying an external magnetic field. Taken together with the hidden magnetism found in AV3Sb5 (A = K, Rb, Cs) and FeGe kagome systems, our results suggest ubiqitous time-reversal symmetry-breaking in charge ordered kagome lattices.

Research progress on the roles of actin-depolymerizing factor in plant stress responses

Actin-depolymerizing factors (ADFs) are highly conserved small-molecule actin-binding proteins found throughout eukaryotic cells. In land plants, ADFs form a small gene family that displays functional redundancy despite variations among its individual members. ADF can bind to actin monomers or polymerized microfilaments and regulate dynamic changes in the cytoskeletal framework through specialized biochemical activities, such as severing, depolymerizing, and bundling. The involvement of ADFs in modulating the microfilaments' dynamic changes has significant implications for various physiological processes, including plant growth, development, and stress response. The current body of research has greatly advanced our comprehension of the involvement of ADFs in the regulation of plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stresses, particularly with respect to the molecular regulatory mechanisms that govern ADF activity during the transmission of stress signals. Stress has the capacity to directly modify the transcription levels of ADF genes, as well as indirectly regulate their expression through transcription factors such as MYB, C-repeat binding factors, ABF, and 14-3-3 proteins. Furthermore, apart from their role in regulating actin dynamics, ADFs possess the ability to modulate the stress response by influencing downstream genes associated with pathogen resistance and abiotic stress response. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current advancements in plant ADF gene research and suggests that the identification of plant ADF family genes across a broader spectrum, thorough analysis of ADF gene regulation in stress resistance of plants, and manipulation of ADF genes through genome-editing techniques to enhance plant stress resistance are crucial avenues for future investigation in this field.

Influence of physicochemical changes and aggregation behavior induced by ultrasound irradiation on the antioxidant effect of highland barley β-glucan

The effect of ultrasonic treatment on the structure, morphology and antioxidant activity of highland barley β-glucan (HBG) was investigated. Ultrasonic treatment for 30 min was demonstrated to improve the aqueous solubility of HBG, leading to a decrease in turbidity. Meanwhile, moderate ultrasound was found to obviously reduce the particle size distribution of HBG, and transform the entangled HBG molecules into flexible and extended chains, which reaggregated to form larger aggregates under long-time ultrasonication. The in vitro antioxidant capacity of HBG treated by ultrasonic first increased and then decreased compared to native HBG. Congo red complexation analysis indicated the existence of helix structure in HBG, which was untwisted after ultrasonic treatment. Furthermore, ultrasound treatment influenced the glucopyranose on HBG, which weakened the intramolecular hydrogen bond of HBG. The microscopic morphology showed that the spherical aggregates in native HBG solution were disaggregated and the untangled HBG chains reaggregated with excessive ultrasonication.

[Observation of liver indexes in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma treated with CAR-T-cells based on BCMA]

Objective: To observe the characteristics of the evolution of liver indexes in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) treated with CAR-T-cells based on BCMA. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed of patients with RRMM who received an infusion of anti-BCMA CAR-T-cells and anti-BCMA combined with anti-CD19 CAR-T-cells at our center between June 1, 2019, and February 28, 2023. Clinical data were collected to observe the characteristics of changes in liver indexes such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), and direct bilirubin (DBIL) in patients, and its relationship with cytokine-release syndrome (CRS) . Results: Ninety-two patients were included in the analysis, including 41 patients (44.6%) in the group receiving a single infusion of anti-BCMA CAR-T-cells, and 51 patients (55.4%) in the group receiving an infusion of anti-BCMA combined with anti-CD19 CAR-T-cells. After infusing CAR-T-cells, 31 patients (33.7%) experienced changes in liver indexes at or above grade 2, which included 20 patients (21.7%) with changes in one index, five patients (5.4%) with changes in two indexes, and six patients (6.5%) with changes in three or more indexes. The median time of peak values of ALT and AST were d17 and d14, respectively, and the median duration of exceeding grade 2 was 5.0 and 3.5 days, respectively. The median time of peak values of TBIL and DBIL was on d19 and d21, respectively, and the median duration of exceeding grade 2 was 4.0 days, respectively. The median time of onset of CRS was d8, and the peak time of fever was d9. The ALT, AST, and TBIL of patients with CRS were higher than those of patients without CRS (P=0.011, 0.002, and 0.015, respectively). CRS is an independent factor that affects ALT and TBIL levels (OR=19.668, 95% CI 18.959-20.173, P=0.001). The evolution of liver indexes can be reversed through anti-CRS and liver-protection treatments, and no patient died of liver injury. Conclusions: In BCMA-based CAR-T-cell therapy for RRMM, CRS is an important factor causing the evolution of liver indexes. The evolution of liver indexes after CAR-T-cell infusion is transient and reversible after treatment.

Development and Validation of CT-Based Dose-Volume-Radiomics Nomogram for Radiation Induced Hypothyroidism in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Several studies reported hypothyroidism occurred in 40-50% of patients who were treated with neck irradiation. Post-radiation hypothyroidism impairs quality of life, increases the risk of cardiac complications, and requires lifelong thyroxine replacement in affected patients. At present, radiation dose-volume constraints of thyroid gland are used to predict thyroid function outcomes in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, it is limited by (a) inferior predictive power, (b) a lack of analyzing individualized thyroid characteristics as a categoriad to predict radiation induced hypothyroidism (RIHT). In this study, we firstly developed and validated CT-based dose-volume-radiomics nomogram to predict RIHT in patients with NPC.

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 451 NPC patients who underwent definitive radiotherapy were randomly assigned into the training (n = 338) and validation set (n = 113) in a 3:1 ratio. Dose-volume parameters, including the thyroid volume, mean dose (Dmean), percentage of the volume that received xGy of radiation (Vx), and the absolute volume that was spared from xGy of radiation (Vsx), were collected from radiotherapy planning databases. We defined primary hypothyroidism as an elevated TSH serum level (> 4.94 mIU/L) in combination with a normal or low serum FT4 level, regardless of symptoms. 1316 CT radiomic features were extracted and selected to construct the radiomics signature (RS). A CT-based nomogram was established by integrating clinical factors, dose-volume parameters and radiomics signature in training set and was tested in validation set.

RESULTS

With a median follow-up period of 68 months, 301 (66.7%) patients developed RIHT. Compared with other dose-volume parameters including thyroid volume, V30, V50, Dmean, Vs45, Vs50, the thyroid volume spared from 60Gy (Vs60) had best power to predict RIHT. The radiomics signature constructed by 8 selected radiomic features showed better prognostic performance than Vs60 for predicting RIHT in training set (RIHT vs. Vs60, C-index: 0.69 vs. 0.58) and internal validation set (C-index: 0.65 vs. 0.55). Patients were stratified into high- and low-risk groups by median radiomic signature. Patients in high-risk group had higher rate of RIHT than patients in low-risk group (training set:61% vs.39%, P<0.05; validation set: 73% vs.32%, P<0.05). The nomogram established by integrating radiomics signature with Vs60 showed optimal prognostic performance with C-index of 0.71 in training, 0.66 in validation set. Calibration curves showed good agreement.

CONCLUSION

CT-based dose-volume-radiomics nomogram provided an excellent prognostic tool for predict incidence rate of RITH in patients with NPC received definitive radiotherapy.

First-Year Experience of IMRT/SBRT Treatments Using a Novel Biology-Guided Radiation Therapy System

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

This study presents the first-year experience of treating patients using intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with the X1 system, the first biology-guided radiation therapy (BgRT) machine installed in a clinical setting.

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 78 patients underwent IMRT and SBRT treatments on the X1 system from May 2021 to May 2022. Clinical and technical data, such as treatment sites, number of pre-treatments kVCT scans, beam on time, patient setup time, imaging time per kVCT, and couch shifts after kVCT match, were collected and analyzed. Additionally, daily machine output stability, patient-specific quality assurance (QA) results, machine uptime, and user survey were also documented and reported.

RESULTS

The most commonly treated site was the head and neck (63%), followed by the pelvis (23%), thorax (6%), and abdomen (8%). All treatments, except for 5 pelvis patients (6%) who received SBRT treatments for bony metastases, were conventionally fractionated IMRT (CF IMRT). The average number of kVCT scans per fraction is 1.2 ± 0.5 for all treatments. The average beam on time in minutes was 9.2 ± 3.5 for all treatments, 8.4 ± 2.4 for head and neck, 6.7 ± 1.3 for thorax, 10.3 ± 1.6 for abdomen, 11.6 ± 5.1 for CF IMRT pelvis, and 10.8 ± 5.3 for SBRT pelvis. The average patient setup time and imaging time per kVCT was 4.8 ± 2.6 minutes and 4.6 ± 1.5 minutes, respectively. The average couch corrections based on kVCT images were 0.4 ± 4.4 mm, 1.0 ± 4.5 mm, and 1.3 ± 4.3 mm along the x, y, and z direction, respectively; the average couch rotation corrections were 0.1 ± 0.9° for pitch, 0.0 ± 0.9° for roll, and 0.2 ± 1.2° for yaw. The daily machine output was 0.4 ± 1.2% from the baseline. The patient QA had a gamma passing rate of 97.4 ± 2.8%. The machine uptime was 92% of the total treatment time. The kVCT image quality and daily QA process received the highest level of satisfaction, while the treatment workflow for therapists received the lowest level of satisfaction (table 1).

CONCLUSION

At one year after the installation of the X1 system, this study reports successful treatment of 78 patients using IMRT/ SBRT. With the recent FDA clearance of BgRT, our institution is preparing to treat patients using PET-guidance via a new product release, which should address deficiencies in the current IGRT workflow.

A Nomogram to Predict Pathological Axillary Status in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

This study aimed to identify factors influencing axillary pathological complete response (pCR) and to develop a predictive nomogram to evaluate axillary pCR rate in breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 2368 patients who received NAC and mastectomy between 2000 and 2014 from 12 grade A tertiary hospitals in China were analyzed retrospectively. The patients treated in three cancer hospitals (training set, n = 1629) were used to construct the nomogram based on multivariate logistic regression analyses. The nomograph was validated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration curve in patients from 9 other general hospitals (validation set, n = 739).

RESULTS

The nomogram incorporated seven predicting factors including NACT cycles, response to NACT, clinical T stage, clinical N stage, grade, LVI, and molecular subtype. The AUC for the training set and validation set were 0.762 and 0.802, respectively. In addition, the calibration curve also showed good agreement between the nomogram-based predictions and the actual observations.

CONCLUSION

A nomogram was established to predict the status of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients after NAC. The predictive model performed well both in the training set and external validation set.

A Retrospective Analysis of Immediate Postoperative Electron Radiotherapy for Keloids

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

The increasing incidence of keloid has seriously affected people's physical and mental health, and the postoperative recurrence rate is as high as 50-80%. Postoperative radiotherapy has been shown to significantly reduce the recurrence of keloid. Given the different treatment patterns in different institutions, we tried to analyze the data of patients in our center.

MATERIALS/METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 455 patients with 498 keloids treated in our institution from 2010 to 2017. All patients received a four-fraction electron radiotherapy with single dose of 4 Gy within 24 hours of surgery. The recurrence and adverse reaction of immediate adjuvant radiotherapy in these patients was evaluated.

RESULTS

At the last follow-up date, 130 (26.5%) keloids had recurred after a middle follow-up of 68.1 months (42.6-129.9 months). The recurrence rates of 1 year, 3 years and 5 years were respectively14.5%, 18.7% and 21%. Recurrence rates vary depending on the keloid location. Among them, the recurrence rate of ear was low with 14% (43/298). Face, head neck and limbs was moderate with 38.8% (17/44) and 33.3% (8/24). Chest and Suprapubic region had a high recurrence rate of 50.8% (32/64) and 47.8% (33/69). Among the patients with recurrence, 16.9% (22/130) felt that their symptoms were better than before treatment, and 37.7% (49/130) were not worsen, which was acceptable. Multivariate analysis showed that age and duration of postoperative pruritus pain were correlated with recurrence (P = 0.036; P = 0.02). Radiotherapy combined with steroid and silicone reduced the recurrence rate compared with radiotherapy alone (P = 0.015). During treatment and follow-up, Infection occurred in 2 patients and cutaneous fibroblastoma in 1 patient.

CONCLUSION

Our radiotherapy regimen can effectively reduce the recurrence rate and improve the symptoms of patients with keloids, especially ear keloids. High recurrence sites need further improvement of radiotherapy dose and fraction. Combination of multiple treatments is better than single treatment.

Long-Term Results of Induction Chemotherapy for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Receiving Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

This study aimed to investigate the long-term clinical outcomes and toxicities of induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) versus CCRT alone in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

MATERIALS/METHODS

Between 2008 and 2022, 271 ESCC patients who received definitive CCRT (IC followed by CCRT, n = 72; CCRT alone, n = 199) were enrolled. Radiotherapy technique included intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). Through a propensity score matched (PSM) method, 71 patients receiving IC and CCRT were matched 1:1 to patients who received CCRT alone, according to age, gender, performance status, tumor length, and pre-treatment TN stage. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were applied to analyze survival and prognosis.

RESULTS

The IC + CCRT group had no improvement in 5-year overall survival (OS) rate (39.0% vs 29.3%, p = 0.360), recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate (39.0% vs 26.9%, p = 0.142), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rate (33.6% vs 27.2%, p = 0.515) compared with the CCRT group. The overall clinical response rate was 45.1% after IC in the IC + CCRT group. The IC responders (CR + PR + SD) group showed more favorable 5-year OS (41.7% vs. 14.3% vs. 29.3%, p < 0.001), RFS (41.7% vs. 14.3% vs. 26.9%, p < 0.001) and DMFS (37.3% vs. 0% vs. 27.2%, p < 0.001) compared with the IC non-responders (PD) group and the CCRT group. Besides, the 5-year OS rate (65.6% vs. 17.6% vs. 29.3%, p < 0.001), RFS rate (65.6% vs. 17.6% vs. 26.9%, p < 0.001), and DMFS rate (62.5% vs. 10.3% vs. 27.2%, p < 0.001) of the IC good responders (CR + PR) were significantly higher than that of the IC poor responders (SD + PD) and CCRT group. Multivariate analysis revealed that total radiotherapy time (≥ 49 days) and AJCC stage (Ⅲ/Ⅳ) were independent predictive factors of OS, RFS and DMFS. Besides, age was an independent predictive factor of DMFS. No significant difference was observed in the rates of grades 3-4 toxicities between both groups.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed the addition of IC to CCRT was not superior to CCRT in unselected ESCC patients, while IC responders could benefit from this regime without increase in toxicities.

Development and Validation of CT-Based Clinical-Radiomics Nomogram for Early Stage Extranodal Nasal-Type NK/T Cell Lymphoma: A Multicenter Study

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Most patients with extranodal nasal-type NK/T cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) had a localized disease with extensive primary tumor invasion at diagnosis (70-90%). Several clinical risk indexes, such as nomogram-revised risk index (NRI), international prognostic index (IPI), Korean Prognostic Index (KPI) and prognostic index of natural killer lymphoma (PINK), were used for ENKTCL patient stratification and providing information in clinical decision-making. However, they had low predictive power for early-stage patients with ENKTCL. This is the first study to construct a model with more predictive power through CT-based radiomics signature combined with traditional clinical risk indexes for overall survival (OS) of patients with early-stage ENKTCL.

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 196 early stage ENKTCL patients were randomly assigned into the training (n = 147) and interval validation set (n = 49) in a 3:1 ratio. And 83 and 19 early stage ENKTCL patients from other two centers were used for external validation set (n = 62). All patients received radiotherapy after 2-3 cycles of chemotherapy. 1316 CT radiomic features before radiotherapy were extracted and selected to construct the radiomics signature (RS). A CT-based nomogram was established by integrating clinical indexes and radiomics signature in training set and was tested in two validation sets.

RESULTS

With a median follow-up period of 59.9 months, 48 patients (24.1%) died. Compared with other prognostic index, NRI had better power to predict 5-year OS in the training cohort. The radiomics signature constructed by 11 selected radiomic features showed better prognostic performance than NRI for predicting 5-year OS in training set (C-index: 0.75 vs. 0.66), internal validation set (C-index: 0.71 vs. 0.62) and external validation set (C-index: 0.68 vs. 0.60). Patients were stratified into high- and low-risk groups by median radiomic signature. Patients in high-risk group had worse 5-year OS than patients in low-risk group (training set: 92% vs. 65%, P<0.001; internal validation set: 88% vs. 59%, P<0.05; external validation set 90% vs. 60%, P<0.05). The nomogram established by integrating radiomics signature with NRI showed optimal prognostic performance with C-index of 0.77 in training, 0.73 in internal and 0.71 in external validation set. Calibration curves showed good agreement.

CONCLUSION

The clinical-radiomics nomogram integrating CT-based radiomics signature combined with traditional clinical risk index provided an excellent prognostic tool for OS, which could be helpful for personalized risk stratification and treatment in early stage ENKTCL patients.

Recurrence Risk Score Model for Evaluating the Impact of Postmastectomy Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients with Pathologic Nodal Negative after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Mastectomy

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Recurrence risk score model was established to distinguish the recurrent risk of patients with pathologic nodal negative (ypN0) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and mastectomy and determine the impact of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT).

MATERIALS/METHODS

This multicenter retrospective study reviewed 766 patients who underwent mastectomy and NACT with ypN0 from 2000 to 2014. Recurrent risk score model was assigned proportionally to the relative contribution of independent prognostic factors in the multivariate Cox model of disease-free survival (DFS). Decision tree analysis was conducted to determine two optimal cutoff points for stratification.

RESULTS

The median follow-up time was 74 months. The 5-year locoregional control (LRC), DFS, and overall survival (OS) rates for the entire group were 96.5%, 89.1% and 95.3%, respectively. 353 (46.1%) patients received PMRT and 413 (53.9%) patients did not. Patients with PMRT have more high-risk factors, including age <40 years, clinical stage III, grade III, or ER and PR negative. Chest wall and regional nodal region were irradiated in 307 (87.0%) and chest wall only in 46 (13.0%). The median radiation dose was 50 Gy (range: 36-60 Gy) in 25 fractions (range: 15-30 fractions). There were no significant differences between the PMRT and No-PMRT groups in the LRC, DFS and OS rates. Recurrent risk score model consisted of five factors and used a range of zero to eleven scoring points: age <40 years and clinical N1 stage for one point; clinical N2, NACT ≥4 cycles, lymphovascular invasion and ypT1-2 for two points; ypT3-4 for four points. 456 (59.5%) patients scoring zero to four points, 188 (24.5%) scoring five points and 122 (15.9%) scoring six to eleven points were assigned to the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk group. LRC, DFS and OS rates in three risk groups were significantly distinct from each other (5yr-LRC: 98.6% vs. 95.5% vs. 89.8%, p < .001; 5yr-DFS: 94.4% vs. 87.4% vs. 71.5%, p < .001; 5yr-OS: 97.6% vs. 93.2% vs. 90.0%, p < .001). PMRT had no impact on the LRC, DFS and OS rates in either low-, intermediate-, or high-risk group.

CONCLUSION

The recurrence risk score model can effectively distinguish patients with different recurrent risk stratification. PMRT in patients with ypN0 after NAC and mastectomy cannot improve LRC, DFS or OS. Table 1. Survival outcomes and comparison between PMRT and No-PMRT arms in different groups.

Morphological characteristics and genetic diversity of floating and attached Ulva prolifera--A case study in the Yellow Sea, China

Green tides in the Yellow Sea have occurred periodically since 2007, impacting the ecological environment and green algal communities along the coasts of Jiangsu and Shandong provinces in China. To investigate the morphological characteristics and genetic diversity of Ulva prolifera, we conducted surveys and comparative analyses of both its floating and attached forms along the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Shandong. The results revealed that the external morphology of the floating U. prolifera was multibranched. The attached U. prolifera displayed significant morphological variation among individuals. Based on the analysis of the amplified characteristic bands of the chloroplast gene, it was shown that both floating and attached U. prolifera could hybridize with Ulva linza. The genetic diversity of U. prolifera was studied using mitochondrial and chloroplast genome fragments. All floating U. prolifera and three strains of attached U. prolifera belonged to the same haplotype. The genetic diversity of floating U. prolifera was low, and there were some genetic differences with attached U. prolifera. The attached U. prolifera displayed a higher level of genetic diversity with abundant sites of variation and haplotypes.

Efficacy and Safety of Multifraction Stereotactic Radiation Therapy with Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Technique for Multiple Brain Metastases

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Multifraction stereotactic radiotherapy (MF-SRT) with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is the standard treatment option for patients with multiple brain metastases. VMAT has superior physical accessibility and economic accessibility compared with advanced radiotherapy technologies such as Tomo or Proton radiotherapy. However, existing studies has mainly focused on comparing the dosimetric parameters between distinct radiotherapy techniques. Moreover, single fraction stereotactic radiosurgery is preferentially recommended for treatment of brain metastases with maximum diameter <2cm compared with MF-SRT. There is a lack of clinical results of its efficacy and subgroup analyses according to diameter. Thus, we first report the detailed analysis of clinical results of SRT using VMAT for brain metastases.

MATERIALS/METHODS

This study is a retrospective analysis of SRT for multiple brain metastasis using VMAT. The clinical efficacy of VMAT was evaluated by local control (LC) in 6-months, 1-year, and 2-year.

RESULTS

A total of 63 patients with 214 brain metastases were enrolled. The most common fractionation schemes were 40 Gy/8F and 48 Gy/12F. In all, LC rates at 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year were 95.5%, 90.6%, and 76.8%, respectively. Using univariate and multivariate analyses according to stratification factors including maximum diameter, GTV volume, dose per fraction, fractions, inner structure, and BED (α/β = 10), we found that no factors were associated with 6-month LC, 1-year LC, and 2-year LC. 1-year LC rates for maximum diameter ≥1 and <2, ≥2 and <3, and ≥3 cm were 89.2%, 90.7%, and 95.7%, respectively. The 1-year LC rates for tumors with GTV <3, ≥3 and <5, ≥5 and <10, and ≥10 cc were 87.0%, 91.7%, 94.7%, and 96.6%, respectively. Interestingly, 1year-LC in GTV ≥3 cc tends to higher than those in GTV <3 cc, but there was no significant difference (94.4% vs 87%, P = 0.162). Brain radionecrosis (RN) was the most significant toxicity occurring in 10 (4.7%) out of the 214 treated brain metastases. Among 6 patients with RN, 4 (66.7%) had been treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

CONCLUSION

The use of MF-SRT with VMAT for multiple brain metastases showed a comparable clinical efficacy to other techniques described in the literature. And the LC rate for maximum diameter <2cm treated with MF-SRT VMAT was comparable to single fraction stereotactic radiosurgery as previously reported. The treatment-related toxicity was acceptable.

Azimuthal Correlations within Exclusive Dijets with Large Momentum Transfer in Photon-Lead Collisions

The structure of nucleons is multidimensional and depends on the transverse momenta, spatial geometry, and polarization of the constituent partons. Such a structure can be studied using high-energy photons produced in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions. The first measurement of the azimuthal angular correlations of exclusively produced events with two jets in photon-lead interactions at large momentum transfer is presented, a process that is considered to be sensitive to the underlying nuclear gluon polarization. This study uses a data sample of ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.38  nb^{-1}, collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measured second harmonic of the correlation between the sum and difference of the two jet transverse momentum vectors is found to be positive, and rising, as the dijet transverse momentum increases. A well-tuned model that has been successful at describing a wide range of proton scattering data from the HERA experiments fails to describe the observed correlations, suggesting the presence of gluon polarization effects.

Genome-wide identification of actin-depolymerizing factor gene family and their expression patterns under various abiotic stresses in soybean (Glycine max)

The actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF) encoded by a family of genes is highly conserved among eukaryotes and plays critical roles in the various processes of plant growth, development, and stress responses via the remodeling of the architecture of the actin cytoskeleton. However, the ADF family and the encoded proteins in soybean (Glycine max) have not yet been systematically investigated. In this study, 18 GmADF genes (GmADF1 - GmADF18) were identified in the soybean genome and were mapped to 14 different chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into four groups, which was confirmed by their structure and the distribution of conserved motifs in the encoded proteins. Additionally, 29 paralogous gene pairs were identified in the GmADF family, and analysis of their Ka/Ks ratios indicated their purity-based selection during the evolutionary expansion of the soybean genome. The analysis of the expression profiles based on the RNA-seq and qRT-PCR data indicated that GmADFs were diversely expressed in different organs and tissues, with most of them responding actively to drought- and salt-induced stresses, suggesting the critical roles played by them in various biological processes. Overall, our study shows that GmADF genes may play a crucial role in response to various abiotic stresses in soybean, and the highly inducible candidate genes could be used for further functional studies and molecular breeding in soybean.

Validation of the shotgun metabarcoding approach for comprehensively identifying herbal products containing plant, fungal, and animal ingredients

Identifying plant, fungal, and animal ingredients in a specific mixture remains challenging during the limitation of PCR amplification and low specificity of traditional methods. Genomic DNA was extracted from mock and pharmaceutical samples. Four type of DNA barcodes were generated from shotgun sequencing dataset with the help of a local bioinformatic pipeline. Taxa of each barcode was assigned by blast to TCM-BOL, BOLD, and GenBank. Traditional methods including microscopy, thin layer chromatography (TLC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were carried out according to Chinese pharmacopoeia. On average, 6.8 Gb shotgun reads were sequenced from genomic DNA of each sample. Then, 97, 11, 10, 14, and one operational taxonomic unit (OTU) were generated for ITS2, psbA-trnH, rbcL, matK, and COI, respectively. All the labeled ingredients including eight plant, one fungal, and one animal species were successfully detected in both the mock and pharmaceutical samples, in which Chebulae Fructus, Poria, and Fritilariae Thunbergia Bulbus were identified via mapping reads to organelle genomes. In addition, four unlabeled plant species were detected from pharmaceutical samples, while 30 genera of fungi, such as Schwanniomyces, Diaporthe, Fusarium were detected from mock and pharmaceutical samples. Furthermore, the microscopic, TLC, and HPLC analysis were all in accordance with the standards stipulated by Chinese Pharmacopoeia. This study indicated that shotgun metabarcoding could simultaneously identified plant, fungal, and animal ingredients in herbal products, which has the ability to serve as a valuable complement to traditional methods.

Impact of prepubertal obesity induced by high-fat diet during lactation and post-weaning on puberty initiation and neuroendocrine function in a female mouse model

PURPOSE

To explore the effects of prepubertal obesity induced by high-fat diet during lactation and post-weaning on puberty onset and the neuroendocrine changes before puberty onset in a female mouse model, which may explain obesity in children starting early puberty.

METHODS

A total of 72 female mice were assigned to the high fat diet group (HFD) and the control diet group (CONT) during lactation and post-weaning. The bodily indexes; pathological changes; and protein and gene expression levels in the hypothalamus were examined on postnatal days (P) 15, 28, and 45, respectively.

RESULTS

The average vaginal opening time in HFD mice occurred significantly earlier than that in CONT mice (p < 0.05). On P15, no significant difference in the MKRN3, kisspeptin, GPR54 and GnRH level between HFD and CONT mice was noted (p > 0.05). Whereas on P28 and 45, compared to CONT mice, GnRH expression in HFD mice was significantly increased (p < 0.05); kisspeptin and GPR54 expression in HFD mice was also significantly increased (p < 0.05); but the MKRN3 level in HFD mice was significantly lower than that in CONT mice (p < 0.05). On P15, 28, and 45, compared with CONT mice, miR-30b expression in HFD mice increased (p < 0.05). Compared to P15, miR-30b, KiSS-1, GPR54 and GnRH mRNA level increased significantly, however MKRN3 decreased significantly in HFD mice on P28 and 45 (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Prepubertal obesity induced by high-fat diet during lactation and post-weaning may advance the time of pubertal initiation in female mice. The increased expression of miR-30b, kisspeptin, GPR54 and GnRH, decreased the expression of MKRN3 may explain the early onset of puberty in obese female mice.

Systemic treatment with GnRH agonist produces antidepressant-like effects in LPS induced depression male mouse model

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is at the head of the neuroendocrine reproductive axis. However, the non-reproductive functions of GnRH expressed in various tissues, including hippocampus, are still not known. Here, we unveil a previously unknown effect of GnRH, which mediates depression-like behaviors through the modulation of microglia function during immune challenge. Specifically, we found that either systemic treatment with GnRH agonist or over-expression of endogenous hippocampal GnRH via viral tool abolished the depression-like behavior after LPS challenges in mice. And the anti-depressant of GnRH was dependent on the hippocampal GnRHR signaling, since antagonizing GnRHR by drug treatment or by hippocampal GnRHR knockdown could block the antidepressant-effect of GnRH agonist. Interestingly, we found that the peripheral GnRH treatment prevented the microglia activation mediated inflammation in the hippocampus of mice. In light of the research findings presented here, we propose that, at least in the hippocampus, GnRH appears to act on GnRHR to regulate higher order non-reproductive functions associated with the microglia mediated neuroinflammation. These findings also provide insights into the function and cross-talk of GnRH, a known neuropeptide hormone, in neuro-immune response.

ASCs activate cGAS-type I IFNs-IL-7 axis via Pseudomonas aeruginosa-derived outer membrane vesicles to resolve pneumonia

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy could efficiently attenuate LPS-induced acute lung injury and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)-induced acute pneumonia. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still elusive. Here, we report that PA-derived outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) trigger mouse primary adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) to upregulate cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) for sensing of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and the expression of interleukin (IL)-7. Loss of cGAS-interferon (IFN)-β axis abolished the protective function of ASCs to PA-induced acute pneumonia in mice. Mechanistically, OMVs-delivered PA dsDNA primes cGAS-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway and increases the IL-7 production in ASCs via IFN-β signaling. Meanwhile, dsDNA-primed ASCs furthermore amplifies IL-7 expression in primary lung epithelial cells and mouse lung epithelial (MLE)-12 cell line via increased IFN-β. Our findings thus implicate a molecular mechanism that ASCs recognize PA-OMVs-derived dsDNA to secrete IL-7 via activating cGAS, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy of ASCs transfer for PA-induced lung infection and inflammation.

Exosomal circRNAs as promising liquid biopsy biomarkers for glioma

Liquid biopsy strategies enable the noninvasive detection of changes in the levels of circulating biomarkers in body fluid samples, providing an opportunity to diagnose, dynamically monitor, and treat a range of diseases, including cancers. Glioma is among the most common forms of intracranial malignancy, and affected patients exhibit poor prognostic outcomes. As such, diagnosing and treating this disease in its early stages is critical for optimal patient outcomes. Exosomal circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in both the onset and progression of glioma. Both the roles of exosomes and methods for their detection have received much attention in recent years and the detection of exosomal circRNAs by liquid biopsy has significant potential for monitoring dynamic changes in glioma. The present review provides an overview of the circulating liquid biopsy biomarkers associated with this cancer type and the potential application of exosomal circRNAs as tools to guide the diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic evaluation of glioma patients during disease progression.

Measurements of the associated production of a W boson and a charm quark in proton-proton collisions at s = 8 TeV

Measurements of the associated production of a W boson and a charm ( c ) quark in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are reported. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb - 1 collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. The W bosons are identified through their leptonic decays to an electron or a muon, and a neutrino. Charm quark jets are selected using distinctive signatures of charm hadron decays. The product of the cross section and branching fraction σ ( pp → W + c + X ) B ( W → ℓ ν ) , where ℓ = e or μ , and the cross section ratio σ ( pp → W + + c ¯ + X ) / σ ( pp → W - + c + X ) are measured in a fiducial volume and differentially as functions of the pseudorapidity and of the transverse momentum of the lepton from the W boson decay. The results are compared with theoretical predictions. The impact of these measurements on the determination of the strange quark distribution is assessed.

Phylogenomic analyses based on the plastid genome and concatenated nrDNA sequence data reveal cytonuclear discordance in genus Atractylodes (Asteraceae: Carduoideae)

Atractylodes species are widely distributed across East Asia and are cultivated as medicinal herbs in China, Japan, and Korea. Their unclear morphological characteristics and low levels of genetic divergence obscure the taxonomic relationships among these species. In this study, 24 plant samples were collected representing five species of Atractylodes located in China; of these, 23 belonged to members of the A. lancea complex. High-throughput sequencing was used to obtain the concatenated nrDNA sequences (18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-28S) and plastid genomes. The concatenated nrDNA sequence lengths for all the Atractylodes species were 5,849 bp, and the GC content was 55%. The lengths of the whole plastid genome sequences ranged from 152,138 bp (A. chinensis) to 153,268 bp (A. lancea), while their insertion/deletion sites were mainly distributed in the intergenic regions. Furthermore, 33, 34, 36, 31, and 32 tandem repeat sequences, as well as 30, 30, 29, 30, and 30 SSR loci, were detected in A. chinensis, A. koreana, A. lancea, A. japonica, and A. macrocephala, respectively. In addition to these findings, a considerable number of heteroplasmic variations were detected in the plastid genomes, implying a complicated phylogenetic history for Atractylodes. The results of the phylogenetic analysis involving concatenated nrDNA sequences showed that A. lancea and A. japonica formed two separate clades, with A. chinensis and A. koreana constituting their sister clade, while A. lancea, A. koreana, A. chinensis, and A. japonica were found based on plastid datasets to represent a mixed clade on the phylogenetic tree. Phylogenetic network analysis suggested that A. lancea may have hybridized with the common ancestor of A. chinensis and A. japonica, while ABBA-BABA tests of SNPs in the plastid genomes showed that A. chinensis was more closely related to A. japonica than to A. lancea. This study reveals the extensive discordance and complexity of the relationships across the members of the A. lancea complex (A. lancea, A. chinensis, A. koreana, and A. japonica) according to cytonuclear genomic data; this may be caused by interspecific hybridization or gene introgression.

JQ1 attenuates neuroinflammation by inhibiting the inflammasome-dependent canonical pyroptosis pathway in SAE

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) manifests clinically in hyperneuroinflammation. Pyroptosis, which can induce an inflammatory cascade response, has been considered to be a causative factor of SAE. Evidence has shown that the bromo- and extraterminal (BET) proteins (including BRD2, BRD3, BRD4 and BRDT) inhibitor JQ1 can inhibit inflammation and suppress pyroptosis in various diseases. Therefore, we examined the effect of JQ1 on inflammasome-induced pyroptosis in the hippocampus in a mouse model of sepsis induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. The results showed that JQ1 treatment alleviated sepsis-related symptoms, protected the blood-brain barrier (BBB), as indicated by upregulated expression of the tight junction proteins occludin and ZO-1, and remarkably rescued neuronal damage in SAE mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that JQ1 intervention inhibited the expression of BRD proteins and decreased the expression of inflammasomes by blocking phospho-nuclear factor kappa B (p-NF-κB) signalling, attenuating the canonical pyroptosis (mediated by cleaved-Caspase1/11) pathway and the release of proinflammatory factors in the hippocampus of septic mice. Interestingly, we also found that JQ1 selectively suppressed the activation of hippocampal microglia in SAE mice. Thus, JQ1 protected the hippocampal BBB and neuronal damage through the attenuation of neuroinflammation by inhibiting the inflammasome-dependent canonical pyroptosis pathway induced by LPS injection in mice, and JQ1 may be a promising target for the prevention of SAE.

[Risk factors for recurrence and survival analysis in locally advanced T4a papillary thyroid carcinoma after R0 resection]

Objective: To investigate the treatment outcomes and risk factors of postoperative recurrence in T4a papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods: A total of 185 patients with locally advanced T4a PTC treated in Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2006 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 127 females and 58 males, aged between 18 and 80 years, with 74 patients aged over 55 years. According to AJCC thyroid tumor staging, 111 cases were stage I (T4aN0M0 26 cases, T4aN1aM0 35 cases, and T4aN1bM0 50 cases) and 74 cases were stage Ⅲ (T4aN0M0 29 cases, T4aN1aM0 19 cases, and T4aN1bM0 26 cases). Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the overall survival and the recurrence-free rate, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses on the clinical data were performed. Results: Recurrent laryngeal nerve invasion was observed in 150 cases, trachea invasion in 61 cases, esophagus invasion in 30 cases, and laryngeal structure invasion in 10 cases. Postoperative follow-up periods were 24-144 months, with an average of 68.29 months. Of the 185 patients, 18 (9.73%) had recurrences or metastases, including 9 cases (4.86%) died of recurrences or metastases. The 5-year and 10-year overall survival rates were respectively 95.21% and 93.10%. The 5-year and 10-year disease-free survival rates were respectively 89.65% and 86.85%. Univariate analysis showed that age of onset, tumor diameter, preoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, esophageal invasion and cervical lymph node metastasis were the risk factors for postoperative recurrence of T4a PTC(all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that preoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (OR=3.27, 95%CI: 1.11-9.61, P=0.032) and lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (OR=4.71, 95%CI: 1.19-18.71, P=0.027) were independent risk factors for T4a PTC recurrence. Survival rate of patients with T4a PTC involving only the recurrent laryngeal nerve or the outer tracheal membrane was significantly better than that of patients with tracheal invasion (P<0.05). Conclusions: T4a PTC patients with R0 resection can still achieve good efficacy. Preoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and lateral cervical lymph node metastasis are independent risk factor for postoperative recurrence in the patients.

[Value of ultrasonography in diagnosis and classification of Masson's tumor]

A retrospective analysis was performed on 11 cases of Masson's tumor admitted to Liaocheng People's Hospital from January 2010 to July 2021. Among them, there were 4 males and 7 females, aged from 14 to 62 years, with a medical history of 1 to 24 months. All of the patients complained of touching the mass under the skin. In this group, 9 cases were pure form, 1 case was mixed form and 1 case was extravascular form. Ultrasound imaging can reflect the characteristics of Masson's tumor to a certain extent, which has a certain value in the diagnosis, classification and differential diagnosis.

Modeling Global Carbon Costs of Plant Nitrogen and Phosphorus Acquisition

Most Earth system models (ESMs) do not explicitly represent the carbon (C) costs of plant nutrient acquisition, which leads to uncertainty in predictions of the current and future constraints to the land C sink. We integrate a plant productivity-optimizing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) acquisition model (fixation & uptake of nutrients, FUN) into the energy exascale Earth system (E3SM) land model (ELM). Global plant N and P uptake are dynamically simulated by ELM-FUN based on the C costs of nutrient acquisition from mycorrhizae, direct root uptake, retranslocation from senescing leaves, and biological N fixation. We benchmarked ELM-FUN with three classes of products: ILAMB, a remotely sensed nutrient limitation product, and CMIP6 models; we found significant improvements in C cycle variables, although the lack of more observed nutrient data prevents a comprehensive level of benchmarking. Overall, we found N and P co-limitation for 80% of land area, with the remaining 20% being either predominantly N or P limited. Globally, the new model predicts that plants invested 4.1 Pg C yr-1 to acquire 841.8 Tg N yr-1 and 48.1 Tg P yr-1 (1994-2005), leading to significant downregulation of global net primary production (NPP). Global NPP is reduced by 20% with C costs of N and 50% with C costs of NP. Modeled and observed nutrient limitation agreement increases when N and P are considered together (r 2 from 0.73 to 0.83).

Performance comparison of RGB and multispectral vegetation indices based on machine learning for estimating Hopea hainanensis SPAD values under different shade conditions

Reasonable cultivation is an important part of the protection work of endangered species. The timely and nondestructive monitoring of chlorophyll can provide a basis for the accurate management and intelligent development of cultivation. The image analysis method has been applied in the nutrient estimation of many economic crops, but information on endangered tree species is seldom reported. Moreover, shade control, as the common seedling management measure, has a significant impact on chlorophyll, but shade levels are rarely discussed in chlorophyll estimation and are used as variables to improve model accuracy. In this study, 2-year-old seedlings of tropical and endangered Hopea hainanensis were taken as the research object, and the SPAD value was used to represent the relative chlorophyll content. Based on the performance comparison of RGB and multispectral (MS) images using different algorithms, a low-cost SPAD estimation method combined with a machine learning algorithm that is adaptable to different shade conditions was proposed. The SPAD values changed significantly at different shade levels (p < 0.01), and 50% shade in the orthographic direction was conducive to chlorophyll accumulation in seedling leaves. The coefficient of determination (R ²), root mean square error (RMSE), and average absolute percent error (MAPE) were used as indicators, and the models with dummy variables or random effects of shade greatly improved the goodness of fit, allowing better adaption to monitoring under different shade conditions. Most of the RGB and MS vegetation indices (VIs) were significantly correlated with the SPAD values, but some VIs exhibited multicollinearity (variance inflation factor (VIF) > 10). Among RGB VIs, RGRI had the strongest correlation, but multiple VIs filtered by the Lasso algorithm had a stronger ability to interpret the SPAD data, and there was no multicollinearity (VIF < 10). A comparison of the use of multiple VIs to estimate SPAD indicated that Random forest (RF) had the highest fitting ability, followed by Support vector regression (SVR), linear mixed effect model (LMM), and ordinary least squares regression (OLR). In addition, the performance of MS VIs was superior to that of RGB VIs. The R ² of the optimal model reached 0.9389 for the modeling samples and 0.8013 for the test samples. These findings reinforce the effectiveness of using VIs to estimate the SPAD value of H. hainanensis under different shade conditions based on machine learning and provide a reference for the selection of image data sources.

[Long-term safety and activity of humanized CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells for children and young adults with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia]

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of humanized CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor T cells (hCART19s) in treating children and young adults with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R ALL) and to analyze relevant factors affecting its curative effect and prognosis. Methods: We conducted a single-center clinical trial involving 31 children and young adult patients with R/R B-ALL who were treated with humanized CD19-specific CAR-T cells (hCART19s) from May 2016 to September 2021. Results: Results showed that 27 (87.1%) patients achieved complete remission (CR) or CR with incomplete count recovery (CRi) one month after CAR-T cell infusion. During treatment, 20 (64.5%) patients developed grade 1-2 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) , and 4 (12.9%) developed grade 3 CRS. Additionally, two patients had grade 1 neurological events. During the follow-up with a median time of 19.3 months, the median event-free survival (EFS) was 15.7 months (95% CI 8.7-22.5) , and the median overall survival (OS) was 32.2 months (95% CI 10.6-53.9) . EFS and OS rates were higher in patients who have undergone hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) than in those without [EFS: (75.0 ± 12.5) % vs (21.1 ± 9.4) %, P=0.012; OS: (75.0 ± 12.5) % vs (24.6 ± 10.2) %, P=0.035]. The EFS and OS rates were significantly lower in patients with >3 treatment lines than in those with <3 treatment lines [EFS: 0 vs (49.5±10.4) %, P<0.001; OS: 0 vs (52.0±10.8) %, P<0.001]. To the cutoff date, 12 patients presented with CD19(+) relapse, and 1 had CD19(-) relapse. Conclusion: hCART19s are effective in treating pediatric and young adult R/R ALL patients, with a low incidence of severe adverse events and reversible symptoms. Following HSCT, the number of treatment lines can affect the long-term efficacy and prognosis of pediatric and young adult R/R ALL patients.

A trial of arbidol hydrochloride in adults with COVID-19

BACKGROUND

To date, there is no effective medicine to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the antiviral efficacy of arbidol in the treatment for COVID-19 remained equivocal and controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of arbidol tablets in the treatment of COVID-19.

METHODS

This was a prospective, open-label, controlled and multicenter investigator-initiated trial involving adult patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Patients were stratified 1:2 to either standard-of-care (SOC) or SOC plus arbidol tablets (oral administration of 200 mg per time, three times a day for 14 days). The primary endpoint was negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 within the first week. The rates and 95% confidential intervals were calculated for each variable.

RESULTS

A total of 99 patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled; 66 were assigned to the SOC plus arbidol tablets group, and 33 to the SOC group. The negative conversion rate of SARS-CoV-2 within the first week in patients receiving arbidol tablets was significantly higher than that of the SOC group (70.3% [45/64] vs. 42.4% [14/33]; difference of conversion rate 27.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.7%-48.1%; P  = 0.008). Compared to those in the SOC group, patients receiving arbidol tablets had a shorter duration of clinical recovery (median 7.0 days vs. 12.0 days; hazard ratio [HR]: 1.877, 95% CI: 1.151-3.060, P = 0.006), symptom of fever (median 3.0 days vs. 12.0 days; HR: 18.990, 95% CI: 5.350-67.410, P < 0.001), as well as hospitalization (median 12.5 days vs. 20.0 days; P < 0.001). Moreover, the addition of arbidol tablets to SOC led to more rapid normalization of declined blood lymphocytes (median 10.0 days vs. 14.5 days; P > 0.05). The most common adverse event in the arbidol tablets group was the elevation of transaminase (5/200, 2.5%), and no one withdrew from the study due to adverse events or disease progression.

CONCLUSIONS

SOC plus arbidol tablets significantly increase the negative conversion rate of SARS-CoV-2 within the first week anas, accelerate the recovery of COVID-19 patients. During the treatment with arbidol tablets, we find no significant serious adverse events.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, NCT04260594, www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04260594?term=NCT04260594&draw=2&rank=1.

First Search for Exclusive Diphoton Production at High Mass with Tagged Protons in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV

A search for exclusive two-photon production via photon exchange in proton-proton collisions, pp→pγγp with intact protons, is presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 9.4  fb^{-1} collected in 2016 using the CMS and TOTEM detectors at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the LHC. Events are selected with a diphoton invariant mass above 350 GeV and with both protons intact in the final state, to reduce backgrounds from strong interactions. The events of interest are those where the invariant mass and rapidity calculated from the momentum losses of the forward-moving protons match the mass and rapidity of the central, two-photon system. No events are found that satisfy this condition. Interpreting this result in an effective dimension-8 extension of the standard model, the first limits are set on the two anomalous four-photon coupling parameters. If the other parameter is constrained to its standard model value, the limits at 95% confidence level are |ζ_{1}|<2.9×10^{-13}  GeV^{-4} and |ζ_{2}|<6.0×10^{-13}  GeV^{-4}.

Rheumatoid arthritis and the risk of major cardiometabolic diseases: a Mendelian randomization study

OBJECTIVE

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is suggested to be implicated in the development of cardiometabolic diseases. We conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) study to assess potential causality for associations of RA with the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes (T2D), coronary artery disease (CAD), and ischaemic stroke.

METHOD

Seventy independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with RA were identified as instrumental variables from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 58 284 European subjects. Summary-level data for the associations of the 70 genetic variants with T2D, CAD, and ischaemic stroke were taken from three GWASs with a total of 1 529 131 participants. Inverse-variance weighted (IVW) MR was used in the main analyses.

RESULTS

The main IVW MR analysis showed that genetically determined RA was associated with higher risks of T2D [odds ratio (OR): 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.05; p < 0.001] and CAD (OR: 1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.03; p = 0.012), but not ischaemic stroke (OR: 1.00, 95% CI 0.99-1.02; p = 0.961). Sensitivity analyses with multiple MR methods confirmed these associations. MR-Egger regression showed no evidence of pleiotropy in the association between genetically determined RA and the risk of T2D, CAD, and ischaemic stroke. Leave-one-out sensitivity analysis showed that the association between genetically determined RA and the risk of T2D, CAD, and ischaemic stroke was not driven by any individual SNP.

CONCLUSION

Genetically determined RA was associated with increased risks of T2D and CAD, suggesting that RA plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of T2D and CAD.