Visualizable intracardiac flow pattern in fetuses with congenital heart defect: pilot study of blood speckle-tracking echocardiography

OBJECTIVES

Blood-flow pattern is an essential factor in cardiovascular development. Recently, blood speckle-tracking echocardiography (BST) based on high-frame-rate ultrasound has emerged as a promising technique for the assessment of blood-flow patterns and properties. The objectives of this study were to determine the feasibility of BST in the fetus and to assess intracardiac blood-flow patterns of fetuses with a congenital heart defect (CHD) using this technique.

METHODS

This was a prospective study consisting of 35 normal fetuses, 35 fetuses with left-sided obstructive lesion (LSOL) and 35 fetuses with right-sided obstructive lesion (RSOL). BST images of fetal intracardiac regions of interest (ROIs), including the left ventricle (LV), right ventricle (RV), ascending aorta (AAo), aortic arch (AA), descending aorta (DAo) and pulmonary artery (PA), were obtained and analyzed. The feasibility of BST was assessed, and blood-flow pattern and number of vortices in the ROIs were recorded.

RESULTS

The median gestational age of the fetuses was 24.7 weeks (range, 19.6-34.3 weeks). BST was feasible in 81.6% of cases, and the cut-off value of depth for an adequate BST image was ≤ 7.9 cm. There were no differences in the presence of vortex/turbulent blood flow in the LV or RV among the three groups. Vortex/turbulent blood flow in the AAo was detected in 0% (0/35), 14.3% (5/35) and 57.1% (20/35) of cases in the control, LSOL and RSOL groups, respectively. The respective values were 5.7% (2/35), 14.3% (5/35) and 51.4% (18/35) for the AA; 0% (0/35), 48.6% (17/35) and 0% (0/35) for the DAo; and 0% (0/35), 40.0% (14/35) and 51.4% (18/35) for the PA. With the exception of the DAo in the RSOL group, vortex/turbulent flow in the great artery ROIs was significantly more common in the LSOL and RSOL groups than in controls (P < 0.01). In the LSOL group, the number of vortices in the AAo, AA, DAo and PA was significantly greater compared with that in controls (P < 0.01). In the RSOL group, the number of vortices in the LV, AAo, AA and PA was significantly greater compared with that in controls (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Fetuses with CHD were more likely to exhibit vortex/turbulent blood flow and increased number of vortices in the great arteries compared with healthy controls. Further research is needed to determine the biomechanical effect of blood-flow patterns, especially vortex flow, on fetal cardiovascular structure and function. © 2023 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Improved Measurement of the Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay

Reactor neutrino experiments play a crucial role in advancing our knowledge of neutrinos. In this Letter, the evolution of the flux and spectrum as a function of the reactor isotopic content is reported in terms of the inverse-beta-decay yield at Daya Bay with 1958 days of data and improved systematic uncertainties. These measurements are compared with two signature model predictions: the Huber-Mueller model based on the conversion method and the SM2018 model based on the summation method. The measured average flux and spectrum, as well as the flux evolution with the ^{239}Pu isotopic fraction, are inconsistent with the predictions of the Huber-Mueller model. In contrast, the SM2018 model is shown to agree with the average flux and its evolution but fails to describe the energy spectrum. Altering the predicted inverse-beta-decay spectrum from ^{239}Pu fission does not improve the agreement with the measurement for either model. The models can be brought into better agreement with the measurements if either the predicted spectrum due to ^{235}U fission is changed or the predicted ^{235}U, ^{238}U, ^{239}Pu, and ^{241}Pu spectra are changed in equal measure.

Precision Measurement of Reactor Antineutrino Oscillation at Kilometer-Scale Baselines by Daya Bay

We present a new determination of the smallest neutrino mixing angle θ_{13} and the mass-squared difference Δm_{32}^{2} using a final sample of 5.55×10^{6} inverse beta-decay (IBD) candidates with the final-state neutron captured on gadolinium. This sample is selected from the complete dataset obtained by the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment in 3158 days of operation. Compared to the previous Daya Bay results, selection of IBD candidates has been optimized, energy calibration refined, and treatment of backgrounds further improved. The resulting oscillation parameters are sin^{2}2θ_{13}=0.0851±0.0024, Δm_{32}^{2}=(2.466±0.060)×10^{-3}  eV^{2} for the normal mass ordering or Δm_{32}^{2}=-(2.571±0.060)×10^{-3}  eV^{2} for the inverted mass ordering.

Impaired ascending aortic elasticity in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot

OBJECTIVES

Aortic wall stiffness has been reported in infants with tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) and may contribute to long-term aortic dilation even after corrective repair surgery. However, little is known about aortic elasticity in fetuses with ToF and the association with neonatal aortic dilation. The objectives of this study were to assess measures of elasticity of the ascending aorta (AAo) in fetuses with ToF and explore the association with neonatal aortic annular dilation in this population.

METHODS

Seventy-six singleton fetuses with ToF and 76 control fetuses of singleton low-risk pregnancies were enroled into this prospective study. Fetal measures of AAo elasticity, including mean longitudinal strain (MLS), global circumferential strain (GCS) and fractional area change (FAC), were assessed by velocity vector imaging. The z-score of the aortic valve (AV) diameter at the level of the annulus, as a measure of aortic annular dilation, was determined in newborns. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between fetal measures of AAo elasticity and neonatal aortic annular dilation (defined as an AV annular z-score > 2) in cases with ToF identified prenatally.

RESULTS

Median MLS, GCS and FAC in fetuses with ToF were lower than those in normal fetuses (7.52% vs 12.15% for MLS, 22.05% vs 29.73% for GCS and 34.2% vs 48.3% for FAC, all P < 0.001). Aortic annular dilation was present in 53/76 (69.7%) newborns with ToF. After adjustment for gestational age at fetal echocardiography and birth weight, fetal MLS, GCS and FAC were independently associated with aortic annular dilation neonatally, with odds ratios of 0.66, 0.78 and 0.82, respectively (P < 0.05). The best cut-off values of these prenatal measures of AAo elasticity for predicting neonatal aortic annular dilation in fetuses with ToF were 9.02% for MLS, 23.56% for GCS and 37.2% for FAC (P < 0.001), with areas under the receiver-operating-characteristics curves of 0.94, 0.91 and 0.93, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Measures of AAo elasticity are decreased in fetuses with ToF. Impaired AAo elasticity in the fetal period is associated with aortic annular dilation postnatally. Additional research is needed to evaluate the relationship between the AAo elasticity injury pattern and degeneration of AAo elasticity under stress as well as the long-term outcome in this population. © 2022 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

A review of ten years of experience using dexamethasone intravitreal implants (Ozurdex) for uveitis

Uveitis is a type of ocular inflammatory disease caused by various etiologies, for which corticosteroids are the main treatment. Dexamethasone Intravitreal implant (DEX-I) has been widely used in the treatment of uveitis across the world. Then, new indications and complications appeared. This review aims to summarize the use of DEX-I in uveitis in the past 10 years. We summarized the clinical data (baseline characteristics, efficacy and safety) and discussed controversies by retrospectively analyzing the articles and cases published in PubMed and Web of Science using the terms "Ozurdex", OR "intravitreal dexamethasone implant", AND "uveitis" from 2010 to 2022. DEX-I is effective in reducing edema, improving inflammation and improving vision when treating various conditions of uveitis including infectious, no-infectious, pediatric uveitis, and surgery-related applications. The efficacy of DEX-I as a monotherapy is related to the following: etiology and course of disease, treatment of systemic diseases, patients' toleration after multiple injections, economic situation, etc. In addition, intravitreal corticosteroids implantation may replace systemic therapy in some patients. In terms of safety, the incidence of high intraocular pressure is about 20.52%, and the incidence of cataract is about 15.51%. DEX-I can effectively treat non-infectious uveitis and some infectious uveitis such as suspected tuberculosis, and its safety is controllable. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the effect of monotherapy and to expand more indications.

Association between maternal oxygenation and brain growth in fetuses with left-sided cardiac obstructive lesions

OBJECTIVE

Impaired brain growth has been observed in fetuses with left-sided obstructive lesions (LSOL). Maternal oxygenation (MO) can alter fetal cerebral oxygenation and vascular reactivity. Our aim was to observe whether brain growth improves during MO in fetuses with LSOL.

METHODS

Forty-six fetuses with LSOL and 23 control fetuses were enrolled in this prospective longitudinal study. Fetuses with LSOL were subgrouped into those with MO (LSOL-MO, n = 23) and those without MO (LSOL-nMO, n = 23). Fetal head circumference (HC) and total intracranial volume (TIV) were evaluated serially at 4-week intervals. Brain biometry and growth were analyzed using linear mixed models adjusted for gestational age and sex. Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated to identify baseline characteristics predictive of brain growth in the LSOL-MO group.

RESULTS

Duration of MO therapy had significant interaction effects on cerebral biometry in fetuses with LSOL. TIV increased more rapidly after 8 weeks of oxygen exposure and HC was larger after 16 weeks of oxygen exposure in the LSOL-MO group compared with the LSOL-nMO group (P &lt; 0.001). The change in TIV at the final time- point relative to the initial timepoint in the LSOL-MO group correlated negatively with the baseline pulsatility index of the middle cerebral artery (r = -0.58, P = 0.003) and baseline myocardial performance index of the left ventricle (r = -0.68, P &lt; 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

TIV and HC increased faster in fetuses with LSOL which had MO compared with those that did not. Lower cerebral vascular resistance and preserved left heart function at baseline may predict greater cerebral biometric growth during MO. Additional research, including larger serial studies, is needed to confirm these preliminary findings and evaluate the clinical application of MO in this population. © 2022 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Deep Underground Laboratory Measurement of ^{13}C(α,n)^{16}O in the Gamow Windows of the s and i Processes

The ^{13}C(α,n)^{16}O reaction is the main neutron source for the slow-neutron-capture process in asymptotic giant branch stars and for the intermediate process. Direct measurements at astrophysical energies in above-ground laboratories are hindered by the extremely small cross sections and vast cosmic-ray-induced background. We performed the first consistent direct measurement in the range of E_{c.m.}=0.24 to 1.9 MeV using the accelerators at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory and Sichuan University. Our measurement covers almost the entire intermediate process Gamow window in which the large uncertainty of the previous experiments has been reduced from 60% down to 15%, eliminates the large systematic uncertainty in the extrapolation arising from the inconsistency of existing datasets, and provides a more reliable reaction rate for the studies of the slow-neutron-capture and intermediate processes along with the first direct determination of the alpha strength for the near-threshold state.

First Measurement of High-Energy Reactor Antineutrinos at Daya Bay

This Letter reports the first measurement of high-energy reactor antineutrinos at Daya Bay, with nearly 9000 inverse beta decay candidates in the prompt energy region of 8-12 MeV observed over 1958 days of data collection. A multivariate analysis is used to separate 2500 signal events from background statistically. The hypothesis of no reactor antineutrinos with neutrino energy above 10 MeV is rejected with a significance of 6.2 standard deviations. A 29% antineutrino flux deficit in the prompt energy region of 8-11 MeV is observed compared to a recent model prediction. We provide the unfolded antineutrino spectrum above 7 MeV as a data-based reference for other experiments. This result provides the first direct observation of the production of antineutrinos from several high-Q_{β} isotopes in commercial reactors.

Charge and Spin Order Dichotomy in NdNiO_{2} Driven by the Capping Layer

Superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates holds exciting analogies with that of cuprates, with similar structures and 3d-electron count. Using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, we studied electronic and magnetic excitations and charge density correlations in Nd_{1-x}Sr_{x}NiO_{2} thin films with and without an SrTiO_{3} capping layer. We observe dispersing magnons only in the capped samples, progressively dampened at higher doping. We detect an elastic resonant scattering peak in the uncapped x=0 compound at wave vector (∼⅓,0), remindful of the charge order signal in hole doped cuprates. The peak weakens at x=0.05 and disappears in the superconducting x=0.20 film. The role of the capping on the electronic reconstruction far from the interface remains to be understood.

The effect of maternal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure and methylation levels of CHDs-candidate genes on the risk of congenital heart diseases

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of maternal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and methylation levels of CHDs-candidate genes on the risk of congenital heart diseases (CHDs), and the effect of PAHs exposure on DNA methylation states.

METHODS

A case-control study involving 60 mother -fetus pairs was performed by measuring 1-OHPG concentration in maternal urine and methylation levels of 20 CHDs-candidate genes in cord bloods. Logistic regression models were applied to determine the effect of maternal PAHs exposure and fetal methylation levels on the risk of CHDs. Spearman correlation was performed to correlate PAHs exposure and methylation levels.

RESULTS

Maternal higher PAHs exposure was associated with the risk of CHDs (aOR = 3.245, 95% CI: 1.060, 9.937) or some subtypes. The methylation levels of 23 amplicons within 11 genes exhibited significant differences between CHDs and controls. Higher methylation of NKX2-5_M1 was associated with decreased risk of CHDs (aOR=0.182, 95% CI:0.034, 0.983). No significant correlations were found between 1-OHPG concentration and methylation levels of NKX2-5_M1.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal PAHs exposure was linked with CHDs. Higher methylation of the upstream sequence of NKX2-5 promoter decreased the risk of CHDs. There was no correlation between maternal PAHs exposure and the methylation level of NKX2-5. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The long-term effect of dental treatment under general anaesthesia or physical restraints on children's dental anxiety and behaviour

AIM

Dental anxiety (DA) is a common problem worldwide because it renders dental treatment in children challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effect of dental treatment under general anaesthesia (GA) or physical restraints (PR) on children's DA and behaviour.

METHODS

A total of 103 children were recruited and divided into four groups: the GA group, PR group, cooperative (CO) group, and no experience (NE) group. The face version of the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale and modified Venham's Clinical Anxiety and Cooperative Behaviour Rating Scale were used to evaluate the level of DA and behaviour.

CONCLUSION

Dental treatment under GA is associated with a higher risk for DA when compared with that under PR in the long term. Increased DA may lead to uncooperative dental behaviour, although the agreement is only moderate.

Joint Determination of Reactor Antineutrino Spectra from ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu Fission by Daya Bay and PROSPECT

A joint determination of the reactor antineutrino spectra resulting from the fission of ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu has been carried out by the Daya Bay and PROSPECT Collaborations. This Letter reports the level of consistency of ^{235}U spectrum measurements from the two experiments and presents new results from a joint analysis of both data sets. The measurements are found to be consistent. The combined analysis reduces the degeneracy between the dominant ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu isotopes and improves the uncertainty of the ^{235}U spectral shape to about 3%. The ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu antineutrino energy spectra are unfolded from the jointly deconvolved reactor spectra using the Wiener-SVD unfolding method, providing a data-based reference for other reactor antineutrino experiments and other applications. This is the first measurement of the ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu spectra based on the combination of experiments at low- and highly enriched uranium reactors.

The Efficacy of Pyrotinib as a Third- or Higher-Line Treatment in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Exposed to Lapatinib Compared to Lapatinib-Naive Patients: A Real-World Study

Background: Pyrotinib is a novel irreversible pan-ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Evidence of the efficacy of pyrotinib-based treatments for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in patients exposed to lapatinib is limited.

Methods: Ninety-four patients who received pyrotinib as a third- or higher-line treatment for HER2-positive MBC were included in this retrospective study. The primary and secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS). Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis were implemented to balance important patient characteristics between groups.

Results: Thirty (31.9%) patients were pretreated with lapatinib and subsequently received pyrotinib as an anti-HER2 treatment, and 64 (68.1%) patients did not receive this treatment. The OS and PFS indicated a beneficial trend in lapatinib-naive group compared to lapatinib-treated group in either the original cohort (PFS: 9.02 vs 6.36 months, p = 0.05; OS: 20.73 vs 14.35 months, p = 0.08) or the PSM (PFS: 9.02 vs 6.08 months, p = 0.07; OS: 19.07 vs 18.00 months, p = 0.61) or IPTW (PFS: 9.90 vs 6.17 months, p = 0.05; OS: 19.53 vs 15.10 months, p = 0.08) cohorts. Subgroup analyses demonstrated lapatinib treatment-related differences in PFS in the premenopausal subgroup and the no prior trastuzumab treatment subgroup, but no significant differences were observed in OS.

Conclusion: Pyrotinib-based therapy demonstrated promising effects in HER2-positive MBC patients in a real-world study, especially in lapatinib-naive patients, and also some activity in lapatinib-treated patients.

Targeting STING attenuates ROS induced intervertebral disc degeneration

OBJECTIVE

DNA damage induced by ROS is considered one of the main causes of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells degeneration during the progression of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). cGAS-STING pathway acts as DNA-sensing mechanism for monitoring DNA damage. Recent studies have proved that cGAS-STING contributes to the development of various diseases by inducing inflammation, senescence, and apoptosis. This work explored the role of STING, the main effector of cGAS-STING signaling pathway, in NP degeneration.

METHOD

Immunohistochemistry was conducted to measure STING protein levels in the nucleus pulposus tissues from human and puncture-induced IVDD rat models. TBHP induces degeneration of nucleus pulposus cells in vitro. For in vivo experiments, lv-NC or lv-STING were injected into the central intervertebral disc space. The degeneration level of IVDD was assessed by MRI, X-ray, HE, and Safranin O staining.

RESULTS

We found that the expression of STING was upregulated in human and rat degenerated NP tissue as well as in TBHP-treated NP cells. Overexpression of STING promoted the degradation of extracellular matrix; it also promoted apoptosis and senescence of TBHP-treated and untreated NP cells. Knock-down of STING significantly reversed these effects. Mechanistically, STING activated IRF3, whereas blockage of IRF3 attenuated STING-induced apoptosis, senescence and ECM degradation. In vivo experiments revealed that STING knock-down alleviated puncture-induced IVDD development.

CONCLUSION

STING promotes IVDD progress via IRF3, while suppression of STING may be a promising treatment for IVDD.

Community diversity and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria in shrimp pond sediment at different culture stages

AIMS

Ammonia oxidation is a significant process of nitrogen cycles in a lot of ecosystems sediments while there are few studies in shrimp culture pond (SCP) sediments. This paper attempted to explore the community diversity and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in SCP sediments at different culture stages.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We collected SCP sediments and analysed the community diversity and abundance of AOA and bacteria in shrimp pond sediment at different culture stages using the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) gene with quantitative PCR (qPCR) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The AOB-amoA gene abundance was showed higher than AOA-amoA gene abundance in SCP sediments on Day 50 and Day 60 after shrimp larvae introducing into the pond, and the diversity of AOA in SCP sediments was higher than that of AOB. The phylogenetic tree revealed that the most of AOA were the member of Nitrosopumilus and Nitrososphaera, and the majority of AOB sequences were clustered into Nitrosospira, Nitrosomonas clusters 6a and 7. The AOA community has close relationship with total organic carbon (TOC), pH, total phosphorus (TP), nitrate reductase, urease, acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase. The AOB community was related to TOC, C/N and nitrate reductase.

CONCLUSIONS

AOA and AOB play the different ecological roles in SCP sediments at different culture stages.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Our results suggested that the different community diversity and abundance of AOA and AOB in SCP sediments, which may improve our ecological cognition of shrimp culture stages in SCP ecosystems.

Cloud-cloud collision as drivers of the chemical complexity in Galactic Centre molecular clouds

G+0.693-0.03 is a quiescent molecular cloud located within the Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) star-forming complex. Recent spectral surveys have shown that it represents one of the most prolific repositories of complex organic species in the Galaxy. The origin of such chemical complexity, along with the small-scale physical structure and properties of G+0.693-0.03, remains a mystery. In this paper, we report the study of multiple molecules with interferometric observations in combination with single-dish data in G+0.693-0.03. Despite the lack of detection of continuum source, we find small-scale (0.2 pc) structures within this cloud. The analysis of the molecular emission of typical shock tracers such as SiO, HNCO, and CH₃OH unveiled two molecular components, peaking at velocities of 57 and 75 km s^-1. They are found to be interconnected in both space and velocity. The position-velocity diagrams show features that match with the observational signatures of a cloud-cloud collision. Additionally, we detect three series of class I methanol masers known to appear in shocked gas, supporting the cloud-cloud collision scenario. From the maser emission we provide constraints on the gas kinetic temperatures (∼30-150 K) and H₂ densities (10⁴-10⁵ cm^-2). These properties are similar to those found for the starburst galaxy NGC253 also using class I methanol masers, suggested to be associated with a cloud-cloud collision. We conclude that shocks driven by the possible cloud-cloud collision is likely the most important mechanism responsible for the high level of chemical complexity observed in G+0.693-0.03.

Quality assessment of randomized controlled trial abstracts on drug therapy of periodontal disease from the abstracts published in dental Science Citation Indexed journals in the last ten years

Background

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) provide the highest level of evidence and are likely to influence clinical decision-making. This study evaluated the reporting quality of RCT abstracts on drug therapy of periodontal disease and assessed the associated factors.

Material and Methods

The Pubmed database was searched for periodontal RCTs published in Science Citation Indexed (SCI) dental journals from 2010/01/01 to 2019/07/17. Information was extracted from the abstracts according to a modified Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guideline checklist. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis and the statistical associations were examined using the linear regression analysis (P <0.05).

Results

This study retrieved 1715 articles and 249 of them were finally included. The average overall CONSORT score was 15.6 ± 3.4, which represented 40.9% (±0.6) of CONSORT criteria filling. The reporting rate of some items (trial design, numbers analyzed, confidence intervals, intention-to-treat analysis or per-protocol analysis, harms, registration) was less than 30%. The adequate reporting rate of some items (participants, randomization, numbers analyzed, confidence intervals, intention-to-treat analysis or per protocol analysis) was no more than 4%. None of the abstracts reported funding. According to the multivariable linear regression results, number of authors (P=0.030), word count (P <0.001), continent (P=0.003), structured format (P <0.001), type of periodontal disease (P <0.001) and international collaboration (P=0.023) have a significant association with reporting quality.

Conclusions

The quality of RCT abstracts on drug therapy of periodontal disease in SCI dental journals remained suboptimal. More efforts should be made to improve RCT abstracts reporting quality.

Key words:Abstracts, RCT, drug therapy, periodontal disease, CONSORT, reporting quality assessment.

Improved Constraints on Sterile Neutrino Mixing from Disappearance Searches in the MINOS, MINOS+, Daya Bay, and Bugey-3 Experiments

Searches for electron antineutrino, muon neutrino, and muon antineutrino disappearance driven by sterile neutrino mixing have been carried out by the Daya Bay and MINOS+ collaborations. This Letter presents the combined results of these searches, along with exclusion results from the Bugey-3 reactor experiment, framed in a minimally extended four-neutrino scenario. Significantly improved constraints on the θ_{μe} mixing angle are derived that constitute the most constraining limits to date over five orders of magnitude in the mass-squared splitting Δm_{41}^{2}, excluding the 90% C.L. sterile-neutrino parameter space allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE observations at 90% CL_{s} for Δm_{41}^{2}<13  eV^{2}. Furthermore, the LSND and MiniBooNE 99% C.L. allowed regions are excluded at 99% CL_{s} for Δm_{41}^{2}<1.6 eV^{2}.

Constraining the External Capture to the ^{16}O Ground State and the E2 S Factor of the ^{12}C(α,γ)^{16}O Reaction

The ^{12}C(α,γ)^{16}O reaction is one of the most crucial reactions in nuclear astrophysics. The E2 external capture to the ^{16}O ground state (GS) has not been emphasized in previous analyses but may make a significant contribution to the ^{12}C(α,γ)^{16}O cross section depending on the value of the GS asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC). In the present work, we determine this ANC to be 337±45  fm^{-1/2} through the ^{12}C(^{11}B,^{7}Li)^{16}O reaction using a high-precision magnetic spectrograph. This sheds light on the existing large discrepancy of more than 2 orders of magnitude between the previously reported ANC values. Based on the new ANC, we experimentally constrain the GS external capture and show that through interference with the high energy tail of the 2^{+} subthreshold state, a substantial enhancement in the GS S_{E2}(300) factor can be obtained (70±7  keV b) compared to that of a recent review (45 keV b), resulting in an increase of the total S factor from 140 to 162 keV b, which is now in good agreement with the value obtained by reproducing supernova nucleosynthesis calculations with the solar-system abundances. This work emphasizes that the external capture contribution for the ground state transition cannot be neglected in future analyses of the ^{12}C(α,γ)^{16}O reaction.

Extraction of the ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu Antineutrino Spectra at Daya Bay

This Letter reports the first extraction of individual antineutrino spectra from ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu fission and an improved measurement of the prompt energy spectrum of reactor antineutrinos at Daya Bay. The analysis uses 3.5×10^{6} inverse beta-decay candidates in four near antineutrino detectors in 1958 days. The individual antineutrino spectra of the two dominant isotopes, ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu, are extracted using the evolution of the prompt spectrum as a function of the isotope fission fractions. In the energy window of 4-6 MeV, a 7% (9%) excess of events is observed for the ^{235}U (^{239}Pu) spectrum compared with the normalized Huber-Mueller model prediction. The significance of discrepancy is 4.0σ for ^{235}U spectral shape compared with the Huber-Mueller model prediction. The shape of the measured inverse beta-decay prompt energy spectrum disagrees with the prediction of the Huber-Mueller model at 5.3σ. In the energy range of 4-6 MeV, a maximal local discrepancy of 6.3σ is observed.

56 Spatial analysis of transcriptome changes in porcine endometrium on Day 14 of pregnancy

During the conception cycle, the embryo undergoes a series of developmental processes including cell division, cellular reorganization, and oestrogen secretion before attaching to the uterine epithelium. The uterine endometrium is complex and consists of various layers and cell types [i.e. luminal epithelium (LE), glandular epithelium (GE), blood cells (B), and stromal areas (S)]. The objective of this study was to characterise the complex transcriptome changes in porcine endometrium during the time of conceptus attachment with respect to localization in different endometrial cell types. RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) was conducted for LE, GE, B, and S samples isolated from endometrial tissue collected on Day 14 of pregnancy and the oestrous cycle, respectively (each group n=4), by laser capture microdissection (PALM LCM microscope, Zeiss, Jena, Germany). Total RNA was isolated (RNA integrity number&gt;6.5) and used for the preparation of 32 RNA-seq libraries (Ovation SoLo RNA-Seq System, NuGEN Technologies, San Carlos, CA, USA). Multiplexed (barcode-tagged) libraries were run on an Illumina HiSEqn 2500 (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA). The obtained sequence data were analysed with a RNA-Seq data analysis pipeline on a local Galaxy server installation. The resulting read counts were used for statistical analysis in EdgeR to identify differentially expressed genes (DEG). Furthermore, an RNA-seq dataset for complete Day 14 endometrial tissue samples from a previous study was analysed using the same pipeline. A total of 14297 genes were detectable in complete endometria, and 12000, 11903, 11094, and 11933 genes in LE, GE, B, and S, respectively. Differential expression analysis was performed between the pregnant and the cyclic nonpregnant group for each cell type and the complete tissue. The highest number of DEG was found for LE (1410) when compared with GE, B, and S (800, 1216, and 384, respectively). In total, 3262 DEG were obtained for the complete tissue between pregnant and nonpregnant gilts. The DEG were assigned to Gene Ontology (GO) terms to characterise overrepresented functional categories and pathways specific for the individual endometrial compartments. The GO classification revealed that most DEG in LE were involved in cell communication, such as ‘extracellular exosome’, ‘extracellular vesicle’, ‘homeostatic process’, whereas the ‘response to organic substance’ and ‘regulation of cell migration’ categories were enriched in GE. In blood vessels, categories such as ‘membrane-bounded vesicle’, ‘cell junction’, ‘cell development’, ‘cell adhesion’ and ‘blood vessel morphogenesis’ were found as overrepresented, whereas in stromal regions, most DEG were assigned to ‘cell communication’ and ‘secretion’. These results confirmed the hypothesis that conceptus signals induce specific transcriptomic regulations in the endometrial compartments/cell types related to their functions during recognition of pregnancy adding a new level of spatial gene expression regulation to endometrial transcriptome analysis.

Measurement of the Electron Antineutrino Oscillation with 1958 Days of Operation at Daya Bay

We report a measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation from the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment with nearly 4 million reactor ν[over ¯]_{e} inverse β decay candidates observed over 1958 days of data collection. The installation of a flash analog-to-digital converter readout system and a special calibration campaign using different source enclosures reduce uncertainties in the absolute energy calibration to less than 0.5% for visible energies larger than 2 MeV. The uncertainty in the cosmogenic ^{9}Li and ^{8}He background is reduced from 45% to 30% in the near detectors. A detailed investigation of the spent nuclear fuel history improves its uncertainty from 100% to 30%. Analysis of the relative ν[over ¯]_{e} rates and energy spectra among detectors yields sin^{2}2θ_{13}=0.0856±0.0029 and Δm_{32}^{2}=(2.471_{-0.070}^{+0.068})×10^{-3}  eV^{2} assuming the normal hierarchy, and Δm_{32}^{2}=-(2.575_{-0.070}^{+0.068})×10^{-3}  eV^{2} assuming the inverted hierarchy.

Screening of parathyroid gland by high frequency ultrasound and the relationship between recurrent urinary calculi and primary hyperparathyroidism

OBJECTIVE

To understand the value of high frequency ultrasound in the clinical screening of parathyroid gland, and to summarize the intrinsic relationship between primary hyperparathyroidism and recurrent urinary calculi.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

98 cases of urinary calculi were randomly selected, and the patients were admitted to our hospital from March 2014 to August 2017. A total of 100 healthy subjects were selected as group B in the same period. High frequency color Doppler ultrasonography scan recorded the results.

RESULTS

Among the subjects in group A, 67 (68.37%) showed parathyroid gland, 14 cases (14.29%) had tumor mass in the parathyroid system, 40 cases more than those in group B (40.00%) and 2 cases (2.00%), (p <0.05). There were 10 cases (10.20%) of primary hyperparathyroidism in group A and no cases of primary hyperparathyroidism in group B (p < 0.05). The occurrence of primary hyperparathyroidism was 26.92% (7/26) in the number of cases, with 3 and more cases of urinary calculi, which was higher than that in the first recurrent cases (3/72), (p<0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

One of the key causes of recurrent episodes of urinary calculi is primary hyperparathyroidism, which can be applied to high frequency ultrasonography to develop professional screening of parathyroid gland in cases of urinary calculi.

Immunosuppressive effect of the gut microbiome altered by high-dose tacrolimus in mice

The alterations induced in gut microbiota by tacrolimus may affect immune function and organ transplantation. Mice were treated with high-dose tacrolimus for 14 days. The fecal microbiota were analyzed by pyrosequencing the 16S rRNA genes, and the effect on metabolism was predicted using the sequence data. The subgroups of T cells in the serum, gut-associated lymphoid tissue, and draining lymph nodes were determined by flow cytometry. Tacrolimus treatment significantly altered the relative abundance of Allobaculum, Bacteroides, and Lactobacillus and CD4⁺ CD25^hi FoxP3⁺ regulatory T cells in the colonic mucosa and the circulation. These were significantly increased after either tacrolimus treatment or treatment by fecal microbiota transfer from tacrolimus-treated donors. Further, treatment with low-dose tacrolimus plus fecal microbiota transfer from high-dose tacrolimus-altered mice increased skin allograft survival rate in a skin transplantation model. Thus, high-dose tacrolimus alters the compositions and taxa of the gut microbiota. Administration of these conditioned gut microbiota plus low-dose tacrolimus resulted in regulation of colonic and systemic immune responses and an increased allograft survival rate. This study demonstrated a new strategy for controlling allograft rejection by combining an immunosuppressive agent with gut microbiome transplantation.

Comparative analysis of the bacterial community compositions of the shrimp intestine, surrounding water and sediment

AIMS

To reveal the relationship of the bacterial communities in shrimp intestine and surrounding environments.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We examined bacterial communities in the intestine of pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, the surrounding water and sediment by high-throughput sequencing analysis. Sequences were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at 97% similarity levels, which ranged from 4956 to 5976 in each sample. All OTUs were affiliated with at least 64 phyla. The 10 most abundant phyla were Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Gemmatimonadetes and Verrucomicrobia. The relationship of bacterial communities in the intestine and the surroundings was also investigated. A total of 1395 OTUs shared in the three habitats, accounting for 80, 65 and 77% in the intestine, the surrounding water and sediment respectively. There were 352, 891, 833 unique OTUs in intestine, surrounding water and sediment. Welch's t-test analysis showed that the abundances of some taxa were significantly different between the shrimp intestine and surroundings. Unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean analysis revealed that there was a generally similar bacterial community composition in three environments.

CONCLUSIONS

These results showed that the bacterial compositions are mostly the same in shrimp intestine, water and sediment, but with different relative abundances of the bacterial communities.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study provided valuable findings on the relationship of the bacterial communities in shrimp intestine, the surrounding water and sediment, which can expand our knowledge of the broad trend on bacterial community in shrimp cultural ecosystems.

[The roles of IL-17 and CXCR4 in chronic allograft nephropathy in rat models]

Objective: To investigate the role and mechanism of IL-17 and CXCR4 in chronic graft nephropathy (CAN) in rat models. Methods: CAN rat models were established using Fisher 344 to Lewis rats. In the control group(n=10), Lewis rats were performed isotransplantation. CAN rat models were established in experimental group(n=10). All the rats were havested 6 weeks after transplantation. Kidneys were examined by pathology to evaluate the injury of the renal allograft. SDF-1/CXCR4, IL-17 and α-SMA expression level in serum and renal graft were detected by immunohistochemical staining and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays(ELISA). The percent and the absolute amount of CD4(+) cells、CXCR4(+) cells and IL-17(+) cells were detected by flow cytometry. Results: The graft of the experiment group showed obvious pathological features of CAN. The protein expression levels of SDF-1/CXCR4 and IL-17 in the experiment group are significantly higher than in the control group. We could also observe the number of Th17 cells has a significant increase in the experiment group[blood (0.19±0.05)% vs (0.12±0.03)%; kidney (0.52±0.21)% vs (0.17±0.12)%]. The IL-17 level also showed the same differences between the experiment[blood (243.12±17.63) pg/ml, kidney (521.54±21.76) pg/ml]and the control group[blood (35.78±7.3) pg/ml, kidney (77.34±11.1) pg/ml]. Conclusions: The Th17 cells increase in the CAN rats model, maybe the SDF-1/CXCR4 has a chemotaxis to collect Th17 cells to the injured kidney. And its expression of IL-17 may promote the renal cells to transform into fibroblasts.

Nickel(II)-assisted enantiomeric differentiation and quantitation of tadalafil by direct electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A facile method based on electrospray mass spectrometry was established and validated for the differentiation of enantiomeric tadalafil isomers without using chiral chromatographic separation. The enantiomers were coupled with a chiral selector to form diastereomeric complex ions. Nickel-tadalafil complexes, [Ni^II (tadalafil)(l-Trp)-H]⁺ , produced a characteristic fragment ion at m/z 524 by loss of 1-methyl-1,6-dihydropyrazine-2,5-dione via collision-induced dissociation. The relative abundance of this fragment ion to the precursor contributed to differentiate tadalafil enantiomers, and energy-resolved product-ion spectra were applied to determine the molar composition of tadalafil in the mixture (R,R and S,S) as well. In addition, the other two forms of stereomeric isomers of tadalafil (R,S and S,R) could be also distinguished and analyzed by this method. The method was validated in different types of mass spectrometers (AB quadrupole time-of-flight and Bruker ion trap) and also verified by a chiral high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight. The chiral determination of tadalafil using MS method proved to be rapid (1-min run time for each sample) and to have the same accuracy and precision comparable to chiral liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methods. This method provides an alternative to commonly used chromatographic technique for chiral determination and is particularly useful in rapid screening in enantioselective synthesis and enantiomeric impurity detection in pharmaceutical industry. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay

The Daya Bay experiment has observed correlations between reactor core fuel evolution and changes in the reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum. Four antineutrino detectors in two experimental halls were used to identify 2.2 million inverse beta decays (IBDs) over 1230 days spanning multiple fuel cycles for each of six 2.9 GW_{th} reactor cores at the Daya Bay and Ling Ao nuclear power plants. Using detector data spanning effective ^{239}Pu fission fractions F_{239} from 0.25 to 0.35, Daya Bay measures an average IBD yield σ[over ¯]_{f} of (5.90±0.13)×10^{-43}  cm^{2}/fission and a fuel-dependent variation in the IBD yield, dσ_{f}/dF_{239}, of (-1.86±0.18)×10^{-43}  cm^{2}/fission. This observation rejects the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino flux as a function of the ^{239}Pu fission fraction at 10 standard deviations. The variation in IBD yield is found to be energy dependent, rejecting the hypothesis of a constant antineutrino energy spectrum at 5.1 standard deviations. While measurements of the evolution in the IBD spectrum show general agreement with predictions from recent reactor models, the measured evolution in total IBD yield disagrees with recent predictions at 3.1σ. This discrepancy indicates that an overall deficit in the measured flux with respect to predictions does not result from equal fractional deficits from the primary fission isotopes ^{235}U, ^{239}Pu, ^{238}U, and ^{241}Pu. Based on measured IBD yield variations, yields of (6.17±0.17) and (4.27±0.26)×10^{-43}  cm^{2}/fission have been determined for the two dominant fission parent isotopes ^{235}U and ^{239}Pu. A 7.8% discrepancy between the observed and predicted ^{235}U yields suggests that this isotope may be the primary contributor to the reactor antineutrino anomaly.

[B7-H4-mediated immunoresistance is supressed by PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors]

B7-H4 plays an important role in tumor immune evasion. In previous studies we have found that B7-H4 can translocate to the nucleus, and the exposure to PI3K inhibitor Ly294002 affects B7-H4 subcellular distribution. In this study we report the role of PI3K/Akt pathway in the B7-H4 subcellular distribution and the effect of PI3K/Akt inhibitors on B7-H4-mediated immunoresistance. The involvement of PI3K/Akt pathway in B7-H4 subcellular distribution was evident in experiments with wortmannin, while MDM2 inhibitor nutlin-3 and the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin were used to dissect the signaling downstream of Akt. Wortmannin and rapamycin demonstrated similar effects on B7-H4 subcellular distribution. Exposure to any of these inhibitors decreased levels of membrane B7-H4 while at the same time inducing its nuclear accumulation, while exposure to nutlin-3 had no effect on B7-H4 subcellular distribution. In the T cell proliferation assay, both wortmannin and rapamycin effectively inhibited B7-H4 WT/293 cells-mediated T cell proliferation while exerting no effect on Mock/293 cells. PI3K/Akt/mTOR plays a role in B7-H4 subcellular distribution, while MDM2 does not take part in it. Moreover, we show that wortmannin and rapamycin inhibit B7-H4-mediated tumor immunoresistance through regulating B7-H4 subcellular distribution. Taken together, these results suggest that PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitors might be used for adjuvant therapy aimed at inhibition of immune evasion.

Limits on Active to Sterile Neutrino Oscillations from Disappearance Searches in the MINOS, Daya Bay, and Bugey-3 Experiments

Searches for a light sterile neutrino have been performed independently by the MINOS and the Daya Bay experiments using the muon (anti)neutrino and electron antineutrino disappearance channels, respectively. In this Letter, results from both experiments are combined with those from the Bugey-3 reactor neutrino experiment to constrain oscillations into light sterile neutrinos. The three experiments are sensitive to complementary regions of parameter space, enabling the combined analysis to probe regions allowed by the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) and MiniBooNE experiments in a minimally extended four-neutrino flavor framework. Stringent limits on sin^{2}2θ_{μe} are set over 6 orders of magnitude in the sterile mass-squared splitting Δm_{41}^{2}. The sterile-neutrino mixing phase space allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments is excluded for Δm_{41}^{2}<0.8  eV^{2} at 95%  CL_{s}.

Improved Search for a Light Sterile Neutrino with the Full Configuration of the Daya Bay Experiment

This Letter reports an improved search for light sterile neutrino mixing in the electron antineutrino disappearance channel with the full configuration of the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. With an additional 404 days of data collected in eight antineutrino detectors, this search benefits from 3.6 times the statistics available to the previous publication, as well as from improvements in energy calibration and background reduction. A relative comparison of the rate and energy spectrum of reactor antineutrinos in the three experimental halls yields no evidence of sterile neutrino mixing in the 2×10^{-4}≲|Δm_{41}^{2}|≲0.3  eV^{2} mass range. The resulting limits on sin^{2}2θ_{14} are improved by approx imately a factor of 2 over previous results and constitute the most stringent constraints to date in the |Δm_{41}^{2}|≲0.2  eV^{2} region.

[Safety and efficacy of preoperative induction therapy using a single high dose ATG-F in renal transplantation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials]

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of preoperative induction therapy using a single high dose (9 mg/kg) of antithymocyte globulin-Fresenius S (ATG-F) for patients undergoing renal transplantation.

METHODS

Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) on the safety and efficacy of preoperative induction therapy using a single high dose of ATG-F for patients undergoing renal transplantation were searched in Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE covering a period from the beginning of databases to July 2015. The meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2.

RESULTS

Five RCTs with 346 patients were included in this study. The meta-analysis showed that the incidences of acute rejection for the patients with renal transplantation were 20.6% (37/180) in the induction therapy group using a single high dose of ATG and 42.8% (71/166) in the control group, with a combined relative risk (RR) of 0.49 and 95% confidence interval (CI) of[0.36, 0.69](P<0.000 1). The patient survival rate (1 year: RR=1.02, 95% CI[0.98, 1.06], P=0.43; 5 years: RR=1.01, 95% CI[0.94, 1.08], P=0.83) and the graft survival rate (RR=1.04, 95% CI[0.97, 1.12], P=0.24) of the two groups were similar. The incidences of CMV infection, urinary tract infection, and malignant tumor were also similar in the two groups.

CONCLUSION

The induction therapy using a single high dose of ATG-F significantly reduced the incidence of acute rejection after transplantation and showed no increased incidence of urinary tract infection, CMV infection, or malignant tumor. The results of our meta-analysis suggest that the application of a high dose of ATG-F may be a safe and effective induction therapy.

Construction of HEK293 cells stably expressing wild-type organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B1 (OATP1B1*1a) and variant OATP1B1*1b and OATP1B1*15

A transgenic cell line stably expressing the human organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP1B1) was established. Human Embryonic Kidney 293 (HEK293) cell line stably expressing OATP1B1*1a sequence was amplified through PCR with the extracted total RNA as templates from human liver, then subcloned into the plasmid pMD19-T and verified by sequencing. OATP1B1*1b/OATP1B1*15 mutant sequences were obtained by site-directed mutation PCR with pMD19-T/ OATP1B1*1a as templates. The plasmids pcDNA3.1(+)/OATP1B1*1a, *1b and *15 were constructed and transfected into HEK293 cell line using Lipofectamine 2000 transfection reagent. Several stable transfected clones were obtained after selection with G418. Using rosuvastatin as a probe substrate of OATP1B1, the intracellular rosuvastatin accumulation in HEK293 and HEK-OATP1B1*1a, *1b and *15 monoclone cells were validated by a ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. OATP1B1 mRNA and protein expression were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The results from RT-PCR, rosuvastatin uptake and Western blot assay indicated that human OATP1B1 was highly expressed in transfected cells compared with controls. The HEK-293 cell lines stably expressing human OATP1B1-wild and variant (HEK-OATP1B1, *1b and *15) are potential models to study drug transport in vitro.