CT quantification of pulmonary vessels in lung aging

AIM

To evaluate the effect of aging on pulmonary vessels based on computed tomography (CT) quantification and analyse the correlation between quantitative pulmonary vascular volume and pulmonary function during aging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 330 healthy adult volunteers, including 161 men (53 aged 20-39 years, 61 aged 40-59 years, and 47 aged ≥60 years) and 169 women (53 aged 20-39 years, 63 aged 40-59 years, and 53 aged ≥60 years) were recruited in this study. AVIEW software was used to quantitatively measure pulmonary vascular volume, including pulmonary total blood vessel volume (TBV) and small blood vessel volume with a cross-sectional area of <5 mm2 (BV5). Pulmonary vascular volume parameters were standardised using the ratio of vascular volume to the body surface area (BSA; TBV/BSA and BV5/BSA). Subsequently, the effect of aging on the pulmonary vessels was analysed.

RESULTS

The pulmonary vascular volume parameters TBV/BSA and BV5/BSA of the whole lung, right lung, and left lung decreased significantly with increasing age (p<0.05). Additionally, TBV/BSA and BV5/BSA of the whole lung were higher in men than in women. The declining trend of pulmonary vascular volume was consistent in men and women and increased with age.

CONCLUSIONS

The pulmonary vascular volume parameters, TBV/BSA and BV5/BSA, decreased with age and were weakly positively correlated with pulmonary function.

Development of High-Performance Iron-Based Phosphate Cathodes toward Practical Na-Ion Batteries

Iron-based phosphate cathode of Na4Fe3(PO4)2(P2O7) has been regarded as a low-cost and structurally stable cathode material for Na-ion batteries (NIBs). However, their practical application is greatly hindered by the insufficient electrochemical performance and limited energy density. Here, we report a new iron-based phosphate cathode of Na4.5Fe3.5(PO4)2.5(P2O7) with the intergrown heterostructure of the maricite-type NaFePO4 and orthorhombic Na4Fe3(PO4)2(P2O7) phases at a mole ratio of 0.5:1. Benefited from the increased composition ratio and the spontaneous activation of the maricite-type NaFePO4 phase, the as-prepared Na4.5Fe3.5(PO4)2.5(P2O7) composites deliver a reversible capacity over 130 mA h g-1 and energy density close to 400 W h kg-1, which is far beyond that of the single-phase Na4Fe3(PO4)2(P2O7) cathode (∼120 mA h g-1 and ∼350 W h kg-1). Moreover, the kg-level products from the scale-up synthesis demonstrate a stable cycling performance over 2000 times at 3 C in pouch cells. We believe that our findings could show the way forward the practical application of the iron-based phosphate cathodes for NIBs.

Prospective role of lusianthridin in attenuating cadmium-induced functional and cellular damage in rat thyroid

The thyroid represents the most prevalent form of head and neck and endocrine cancer. The present investigation demonstrates the anticancer effects of Lusianthridin against cadmium (Cd)-induced thyroid cancer in rats. Swiss Wistar rats were utilized in this experimental study. Cd was employed to induce thyroid cancer, and the rats were divided into different groups, receiving oral administration of Lusianthridin (20 mg/kg) for 14 days. Thyroid parameters, deiodinase levels, hepatic parameters, lipid parameters, and antioxidant parameters were respectively estimated. The mRNA expression was assessed using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Lusianthridin significantly (P < 0.001) improved protein levels, T4, T3, free iodine in urine, and suppressed the level of TSH. Lusianthridin significantly (P < 0.001) enhanced the levels of FT3, FT4, and decreased the level of rT3. Lusianthridin significantly (P < 0.001) reduced the levels of D1, D2, D3, and enhanced the levels of hepatic parameters like AST, ALT. Lusianthridin remarkably (P < 0.001) altered the levels of lipid parameters such as LDL, total cholesterol, HDL, and triglycerides; antioxidant parameters viz., MDA, GSH, CAT, and SOD. Lusianthridin significantly altered the mRNA expression of Bcl-2, Bax, MEK1, ERK1, ERK2, p-eIf2α, GRP78, eIf2α, and GRP94. The results clearly state that Lusianthridin exhibits protective effects against thyroid cancer.

A plant mechanism of hijacking pathogen virulence factors to trigger innate immunity

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) interact with pathogen-derived polygalacturonases to inhibit their virulence-associated plant cell wall-degrading activity but stimulate immunity-inducing oligogalacturonide production. Here we show that interaction between Phaseolus vulgaris PGIP2 (PvPGIP2) and Fusarium phyllophilum polygalacturonase (FpPG) enhances substrate binding, resulting in inhibition of the enzyme activity of FpPG. This interaction promotes FpPG-catalyzed production of long-chain immunoactive oligogalacturonides, while diminishing immunosuppressive short oligogalacturonides. PvPGIP2 binding creates a substrate binding site on PvPGIP2-FpPG, forming a new polygalacturonase with boosted substrate binding activity and altered substrate preference. Structure-based engineering converts a putative PGIP that initially lacks FpPG-binding activity into an effective FpPG-interacting protein. These findings unveil a mechanism for plants to transform pathogen virulence activity into a defense trigger and provide proof of principle for engineering PGIPs with broader specificity.

Dual detection of human motion and glucose in sweat with polydopamine and glucose oxidase doped self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels

The detection of human motion and sweat composition are important for human health or sports training, so it is necessary to develop flexible sensors for monitoring exercise processes and sweat detection. Mussel secretion of adhesion proteins enables self-healing of byssus and adhesion to surfaces. We prepared Au nanoparticles@polydopamine (AuNPs@PDA) nanomaterials based on mussel-inspired chemistry and compounded them with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels to obtain PVA/AuNPs@PDA self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels. Dopamine (DA) was coated on the surface of AuNPs to obtain AuNPs based composite (AuNPs@PDA) and the AuNPs@PDA was implanted into the PVA hydrogels to obtain nanocomposite hydrogel through facile freeze-thaw cycle. Glucose oxidase (GOD) was added to the hydrogel matrix to achieve specific detection of glucose in sweat. The obtained hydrogels exhibit high deformability (573.7 %), excellent mechanical strength (550.3 KPa) and self-healing properties (85.1 %). The PVA/AuNPs@PDA hydrogel sensors exhibit quick response time (185.0 ms), wide strain sensing range (0-500 %), superior stability and anti-fatigue properties in motion detection. The detection of glucose had wide concentration detection range (1.0 μmol/L-200.0 μmol/L), low detection limits (0.9 μmol/L) and high sensitivity (24.4 μA/mM). This work proposes a reference method in dual detection of human exercise and sweat composition analysis.

Hyperon Polarization along the Beam Direction Relative to the Second and Third Harmonic Event Planes in Isobar Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

The polarization of Λ and Λ[over ¯] hyperons along the beam direction has been measured relative to the second and third harmonic event planes in isobar Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV. This is the first experimental evidence of the hyperon polarization by the triangular flow originating from the initial density fluctuations. The amplitudes of the sine modulation for the second and third harmonic results are comparable in magnitude, increase from central to peripheral collisions, and show a mild p_{T} dependence. The azimuthal angle dependence of the polarization follows the vorticity pattern expected due to elliptic and triangular anisotropic flow, and qualitatively disagrees with most hydrodynamic model calculations based on thermal vorticity and shear induced contributions. The model results based on one of existing implementations of the shear contribution lead to a correct azimuthal angle dependence, but predict centrality and p_{T} dependence that still disagree with experimental measurements. Thus, our results provide stringent constraints on the thermal vorticity and shear-induced contributions to hyperon polarization. Comparison to previous measurements at RHIC and the LHC for the second-order harmonic results shows little dependence on the collision system size and collision energy.

A pan-tissue survey of mosaic chromosomal alterations in 948 individuals

Genetic mutations accumulate in an organism's body throughout its lifetime. While somatic single-nucleotide variants have been well characterized in the human body, the patterns and consequences of large chromosomal alterations in normal tissues remain largely unknown. Here, we present a pan-tissue survey of mosaic chromosomal alterations (mCAs) in 948 healthy individuals from the Genotype-Tissue Expression project, augmenting RNA-based allelic imbalance estimation with haplotype phasing. We found that approximately a quarter of the individuals carry a clonally-expanded mCA in at least one tissue, with incidence strongly correlated with age. The prevalence and genome-wide patterns of mCAs vary considerably across tissue types, suggesting tissue-specific mutagenic exposure and selection pressures. The mCA landscapes in normal adrenal and pituitary glands resemble those in tumors arising from these tissues, whereas the same is not true for the esophagus and skin. Together, our findings show a widespread age-dependent emergence of mCAs across normal human tissues with intricate connections to tumorigenesis.

Pesticide residues in agricultural end-products and risk assessment for consumers in North China

This study investigated pesticide residues in market-sold vegetables and fruits in Hebei Province, China, over 5 years (2018-2022). A modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) method was applied to gas chromatography with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). The analytical methods were validated with respect to matrix effect (ME), recovery rate (78.9~105.5%), limit of quantitation (LOQ, 2.93~9.73 μg/kg), and linear correlation coefficient (0.9982~0.9997). Residues of 10 pesticides in 12 categories of vegetable and fruit were detected. 31.9% of the samples were detected pesticide residues; 15.5% of samples were detected multi-component pesticide residues. Twenty-seven positive detections of pesticide residues exceeded the corresponding maximum residue limit (MRL), accounting for 2.33%. The most types of pesticide residues were detected in cherry, with the number of 7. Procymidone was the most detected pesticide, and it was detected in 8 categories of samples. The hazard index (HI) of omethoate was the highest and the procymidone was the lowest. The HI of all the vegetables and fruits were less than 100%. The effects of pesticide residues are within an acceptable range for human. Adequate attention and further monitoring are still needed.

Bacterial contamination of medical face mask wearing duration and the optimal wearing time

Introduction

Bacterial contamination is a critical parameter for how long a medical mask will be worn.

Methods

In this study, we used the pour plate method to observe the total bacteria counts in used medical face masks. The bacterial community analysis was detected using bio-Mass spectrometry technology and 16SrRNA gene sequencing technology. The wearing time of the mask from 0.5 hours to 5 hours were studied.

Results

These results shown that the total number of bacteria on the inside surface of the mask were higher than the outside. The total number of bacteria on the inner surface of masks worn for 0.5 h, 1 h 2 h, 4 h and 5 h was 69 CFU/m2,91.3 CFU/m2, 159.6 CFU/m2, 219 CFU/m2, and 879 CFU/m2, respectively. The total number of bacteria on the outside surface of masks worn for 0.5 h, 1 h 2 h, 4 h and 5 h was 60 CFU/m2, 82.7 CFU/m2, 119.8 CFU/m2, 200 CFU/m2, and 498 CFU/m2, respectively. The bacterial abundance obtained from bio-Mass spectrometry were consistent with the results of 16SrRNA sequencing. Both the methods discovered the maximum number of Neisseria followed by Corynebacterium species in mask worn 5 hours. The top 100 bacteria isolated from inside and outside surface of mask belong to 11 phyla.

Conclusions

We analyzed bacterial penetration efficiency of the bacteria that were detected both on the inside and outside surface of the masks. In the top 10 bacteria, no bacteria were detected both inside and outside the mask worn for four hours, while 6 bacteria species were detected on the inside and outside of the mask after wearing for five hours. Bacterial penetration rates ranged from 0.74% to 99.66% for masks worn continuously for five hours, and the penetration rate of four strains exceeded 10% in the top 10 colonies. We recommend timely replacement of masks worn for more than four hours.

The Role of Radiation Therapy for Metastatic Cervical Cancer

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Survival rates for women with metastatic cervical cancer (CC) are low, with limited management options. Radiation therapy (RT) for metastatic disease has led to prolonged survival in other malignancies, however, the data are scarce in CC. Herein, we evaluated the effect of RT for metastatic CC.

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 58 patients with metastatic CC between September 2019 and January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were treated with platinum-based chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy or immunotherapy followed with or without RT (NRT). The recent efficacy, survival status and prognostic factors were analyzed statistically.

RESULTS

Objective response rate (ORR) was 63.6% with one complete and twenty partial responses in RT group (n = 33) and 40.0% with two complete and eight partial responses in NRT group (n = 25), respectively (p = 0.074). Disease control rate (DCR) of the RT and NRT groups were 79.4% vs 80.0%, respectively (p = 0.861). Median follow-up time was 17 months (3-39months). In RT group, 11(33.3%) patients experienced local regional or distant failure and 9 (27.3%) patients were dead. In NRT group, 15(60%) patients had progression and 8 (32%) patients dead. There was no significant difference between the two groups in overall survival (OS); however, RT group displayed superior progression-free survival (PFS) (1-year OS: 72.7% vs. 68.0%, p = 0.460; 1-year PFS: 66.7% vs. 40.0%, p = 0.039). The multivariate analysis showed that RT, immunotherapy, lymph node metastasis only relevant predictor of superior PFS but not OS. In subgroup analysis, patients treated with RT appeared to have a better PFS in some specific cohorts, such as age>45 years (72.0% vs 36.4% P = 0.015), squamous carcinoma histology (71.0% vs 40.9% P = 0.017), metastatic at diagnosis (75.0% vs 47.6% P = 0.012), non-targeted therapy (72.4% vs 43.8% P = 0.040). No significant increase in treatment-related toxicity was observed in the RT group compared with the NRT group.

CONCLUSION

RT provided superior PFS in metastatic CC patients compared to NRT, and well tolerated. Moreover, RT, immunotherapy, lymph node metastasis only were independent significant prognostic factors for PFS. Subgroup analysis showed that combination of RT and chemotherapy obtained favorable PFS in metastatic CC patients with age>45 years, squamous carcinoma histology, metastatic at diagnosis, non-targeted therapy. Studies with a larger sample size and longer follow-up are warranted.

Perioperative sleep disorders in gynaecological daycase surgery patients and analysis of risk factors: protocol for a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Sleep disorders are clinical syndromes of disturbed sleep-wake rhythms and abnormal sleep quality. They have various causes, but their main manifestations are difficulty falling asleep, sleep disruption and daytime fatigue. These are common clinical symptoms in perioperative patients, especially in gynaecological patients. There is a lack of research on the factors influencing perioperative sleep disorders in gynaecological patients. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of sleep disorders in gynaecological surgery patients and to analyse the possible factors influencing them to provide new ideas for improving sleep disorders in this patient population.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This cross-sectional, descriptive and observational survey is planned to include 480 gynaecological day surgery patients. All patients who meet the inclusion criteria are eligible to join the study. The study will record preoperative diagnosis, surgical procedure, duration of surgery, type of anaesthesia, anaesthetic drugs, sleep quality, anxiety and depression levels and pain indices 30 days before and 1, 2, 3 and 30 days after surgery.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Shijitan Hospital Affiliated with Capital Medical University (Approval Number: sjtkyll-lx-2022(109)) before the start of recruitment. The results of the study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ChiCTR2200064533.

Cotton leaf curl Multan virus C4 protein suppresses autophagy to facilitate viral infection

Autophagy plays an important role in plant antiviral defense. Several plant viruses are reported to encode viral suppressor of autophagy (VSA) to prevent autophagy for effective virus infection. However, whether and how other viruses, in particular DNA viruses, also encode VSAs to affect viral infection in plants is unknown. Here, we report that the C4 protein encoded by Cotton leaf curl Multan geminivirus (CLCuMuV) inhibits autophagy by binding to the autophagy negative regulator eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A (eIF4A) to enhance the eIF4A-Autophagy-related protein 5 (ATG5) interaction. By contrast, the R54A or R54K mutation in C4 abolishes its capacity to interact with eIF4A, and neither C4R54A nor C4R54K can suppress autophagy. However, the R54 residue is not essential for C4 to interfere with transcriptional gene silencing or post-transcriptional gene silencing. Moreover, plants infected with mutated CLCuMuV-C4R54K develop less severe symptoms with decreased levels of viral DNA. These findings reveal a molecular mechanism underlying how the DNA virus CLCuMuV deploys a VSA to subdue host cellular antiviral autophagy defense and uphold viral infection in plants.

Associations Between Cancer Predisposition Mutations and Clonal Hematopoiesis in Patients With Solid Tumors

PURPOSE

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH), the expansion of clones in the hematopoietic system, has been linked to different internal and external features such as aging, genetic ancestry, smoking, and oncologic treatment. However, the interplay between mutations in known cancer predisposition genes and CH has not been thoroughly examined in patients with solid tumors.

METHODS

We used prospective tumor-blood paired sequencing data from 46,906 patients who underwent Memorial Sloan Kettering-Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets (MSK-IMPACT) testing to interrogate the associations between CH and rare pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) germline variants.

RESULTS

We observed an enrichment of CH-positive patients among those carrying P/LP germline mutations and identified a significant association between P/LP germline variants in ATM and CH. Germline and CH comutation patterns in ATM, TP53, and CHEK2 suggested biallelic inactivation as a potential mediator of clonal expansion. Moreover, we observed that CH-PPM1D mutations, similar to somatic tumor-associated PPM1D mutations, were depleted in patients with P/LP germline mutations in the DNA damage response (DDR) genes ATM, CHEK2, and TP53. Patients with solid tumors and harboring P/LP germline mutations, CH mutations, and mosaicism chromosomal alterations might be at an increased risk of developing secondary leukemia while germline variants in TP53 were identified as an independent risk factor (hazard ratio, 36; P < .001) for secondary leukemias.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest a close relationship between inherited variants and CH mutations within the DDR genes in patients with solid tumors. Associations identified in this study might translate into enhanced clinical surveillance for CH and associated comorbidities in patients with cancer harboring these germline mutations.

[Analysis on the trends of incidence and age change for global female breast cancer]

Objective: To analyze the trends of incidence and age change for global female breast cancer in different regions of the world according to the database from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Time Trends (CI5plus) published by the International Association of Cancer Registries (IACR). Methods: The recorded annual female breast cancer (ICD-10: C50) incidence data and corresponding population at-risk data (1998-2012) were extracted from CI5plus published by IACR. The annual change percentage and average annual change percentage (AAPC) were calculated to examine the trends of incidence. The age-standardized mean age at diagnosis and proportion of incidence cases by age were calculated to analyze the relationship between incidence and age. Results: For crude incidence, except in Northern America, all other regions showed an upward trend, with Asia showing the most obvious upward trend (AAPC: 4.1%, 95% CI: 3.9%, 4.3%). For age-standardized incidence, in Asia, Latin America and Europe, the rising trends had slowed down, in Oceania and Africa, the trends began to be stable, and in Northern America, the trend showed a downward trend (APPC: -0.6%; 95% CI: -1.0%, -0.1%). The mean age at diagnosis were increased from 1998 to 2012 in Asia, Latin America, Oceania and Europe, with an annual increase of 0.12 years, 0.09 years, 0.04 years and 0.03 years, respectively. But after age-standardized, only Europe still kept increasing year by year, with an annual increase of 0.02 years, while Northern America showed a decreasing trend, with an annual decrease of about 0.03 years. Conclusions: From 1998 to 2012, the trends of incidence and age change for global female breast cancer vary in different regions of the world, and the global population aging is widespread, which affects the trend of the actual age change. Prevention and control strategies should be targeted at different age groups in different regions.

Insights into the Conductive Network of Electrochemical Exfoliation with Graphite Powder as Starting Raw Material for Graphene Production

Electrochemical exfoliation starting with graphite powder as the raw material for graphene production shows superiority in cost effectiveness over the popular bulk graphite. However, the crucial conductive network inside the graphite powder electrode along with its formation and influence mechanisms remains blank. Here, an adjustable-pressure graphite powder electrode with a sandwich structure was designed for this. Appropriate encapsulation pressure is necessary and conducive to constructing a continuous and stable conductive network, but overloaded encapsulation pressure is detrimental to the exfoliation and graphene quality. With an initial encapsulation pressure (IEP) of 4 kPa, the graphite powders expand rapidly to a final stable expansion pressure of 49 kPa with a final graphene yield of 46.3%, where 84% of the graphene sheets are less than 4 layers with I_D/I_G values between 0.22 and 1.24. Increasing the IEP to 52 kPa, the expansion pressure increases to 73 kPa, but the graphene yield decreases to 39.3% with a worse graphene quality including higher layers and I_D/I_G values of 1.68-2.13. In addition, small-size graphite powders are not suitable for the electrochemical exfoliation. With the particle size decreasing from 50 to 325 mesh, the graphene yield decreases almost linearly from 46.3% to 5.5%. Conductive network and electrolyte migration synergize and constrain each other, codetermining the electrochemical exfoliation. Within an encapsulated structure, the electrochemical exfoliation of the graphite powder electrode proceeds from the outside to the inside. The insights revealed here will provide direction for further development of electrochemical exfoliation of graphite powder to produce graphene.

Haplotype-aware analysis of somatic copy number variations from single-cell transcriptomes

Genome instability and aberrant alterations of transcriptional programs both play important roles in cancer. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has the potential to investigate both genetic and nongenetic sources of tumor heterogeneity in a single assay. Here we present a computational method, Numbat, that integrates haplotype information obtained from population-based phasing with allele and expression signals to enhance detection of copy number variations from scRNA-seq. Numbat exploits the evolutionary relationships between subclones to iteratively infer single-cell copy number profiles and tumor clonal phylogeny. Analysis of 22 tumor samples, including multiple myeloma, gastric, breast and thyroid cancers, shows that Numbat can reconstruct the tumor copy number profile and precisely identify malignant cells in the tumor microenvironment. We identify genetic subpopulations with transcriptional signatures relevant to tumor progression and therapy resistance. Numbat requires neither sample-matched DNA data nor a priori genotyping, and is applicable to a wide range of experimental settings and cancer types.

Rational Molecular Design Strategy for High-Efficiency Ultrapure Blue TADF Emitters: Symmetrical and Rigid Sulfur-Bridged Boron-Based Acceptors

Developing highly efficient blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters with a narrowband emission is still a challenge. Here, novel ultrapure blue TADF emitters of TSBA-Cz and TSBA-PhCz were designed and synthesized for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Photophysical and time-dependent density functional theory calculation results simultaneously show the similar intramolecular charge-transfer character of MR-type TADF emitters. Benefiting from the symmetrical and rigid molecular configuration, compounds TSBA-Cz and TSBA-PhCz emit a pure blue emission peak at 463 and 470 nm, a narrow full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 30 and 36 nm, and a small singlet-triplet energy gap (ΔE_ST) of 0.21 and 0.18 eV, respectively, facilitating their excellent TADF behavior in doped films. Furthermore, highly efficient TADF-OLED devices using the TSBA-Cz and TSBA-PhCz with external quantum efficiencies of 23.4 and 21.3% emit ultrapure blue electroluminescence (EL) at 464 and 472 nm with a narrow FWHM of about 35 nm and CIE color coordinates of (0.14, 0.11) and (0.12, 0.18). This work provides novel TADF emitters for blue OLEDs with narrowband EL.

[A clinicopathological classification of space-occupying lesions of the orbit in 1 913 patients from 2000 to 2021]

Objective: To investigate the histopathological classification of orbital space-occupying lesions. Methods: This is a retrospective case series study. The clinical and pathological data of 1 913 tissue specimens from 1 913 patients with space-occupying lesions of the orbit which were examined in the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January 2000 to December 2021 were collected. The mass lesions were classified based on histogenesis, pathological nature and age. Results: There were 913 males (47.7%) and 1 000 females (52.3%). The lesions were benign in 1 489 patients (77.8%) and malignant in 424 patients (22.2%). Based on histogenesis, there were 521 vasculogenic lesions (27.2%), which rancked first, 407 cystoid lesions (21.3%), 277 lymphoproliferative lesions (14.5%), 182 lacrimal gland lesions (9.5%) and 121 inflammatory lesions (6.3%). By pathological nature, there were 1 489 benign lesions, including cavernous hemangioma (275, 14.4%), dermoid cyst (225, 11.8%), other hemangiomas (199, 10.4%), epidermoid cyst (136, 7.1%) and benign mixed tumor of the lacrimal gland (134, 7.0%), and 257 malignant lesions, including lymphoma (210, 11.0%) and sebaceous gland carcinoma (47, 2.5%). The age of all patients ranged from 0 to 90 years, while 247 lesions (12.9%) occurred in patients aged 0 to18 years, 1 270 lesions (66.4%) in patients aged 19 to 59 years, and 396 lesions (20.7%) in patients aged 60 to 90 years. Conclusions: In 22 years, almost 2/3 benign orbital lesions in the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine occurred in young and middle-aged patients, and males were fewer than females. The most common benign orbital tumors was cavernous hemangioma, followed by dermoid cyst and epidermoid cyst. And the most common malignant orbital tumor was lymphoma, which occurred more frequently in older patients.

Plant-Based Diet and Risk of Frailty in Older Chinese Adults

OBJECTIVES

This study examined the relationship between the consumption of plant-based diet and frailty in older Chinese adults.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

Community-based setting in 22 provinces of China.

PARTICIPANTS

The final sample included data from 3990 older adults from 2011-2014 from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey.

MEASUREMENTS

A plant-based diet index (PDI) was calculated based on a qualitative food frequency questionnaire. Frailty was defined using modified Fried criteria. A Generalized Estimating Equation was used to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for frailty. We further performed subgroup analyses stratified by sex and lifestyle factors.

RESULTS

557 cases of frailty were observed. After adjustment for covariates, the RR for frailty of a high PDI was 0.792 (95% CI: 0.644-0.973), relative to a low PDI. During follow-up, compared with respondents with a continually low PDI, the respondents with a continually high PDI had a significantly reduced risk of frailty (RR = 0.683, 95% CI: 0.514-0.908). In further subgroup analysis, a consistently high PDI over time resulted in a significantly reduced risk of frailty for male (RR = 0.591, 95% CI: 0.391-0.893); for never smokers (RR = 0.670, 95% CI: 0.458-0.979); for people who did never consume alcohol (RR = 0.654, 95% CI: 0.454-0.941); and for people with current or former exercise habits (RR = 0.488, 95% CI: 0.313-0.762).

CONCLUSION

Plant-based diet was associated with low risk of frailty in men and in older adults with healthy lifestyle. These findings stress that plant-based diet should be recommended as a dietary strategy to prevent and reduce frailty in older adults; in addition, more dietary interventions along with lifestyle modification should be adopted to promote successful ageing, especially for women.

Prognostic analysis of hidradenocarcinoma: a SEER-based observational study

BACKGROUND

Hidradenocarcinoma is a rare malignancy of sweat gland differentiation. Published literature has reported that hidradenocarcinoma has a high recurrence and metastasis rate, and the prognosis is extremely poor. However, the sample sizes included in these studies are insufficient, and therefore, the findings are doubtful.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Clinicopathological characteristics and survival data of 289 hidradenocarcinoma patients were extracted from the SEER database (covering 18 registries, 2000-2018) released in July 2021. The distribution of clinicopathological characteristics was compared using the Pearson chi-square test. Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were analysed using the log-rank test and univariate analysis.

RESULTS

The primary site of hidradenocarcinoma in 121 patients was located in the head and neck, accounting for 41.9%, and the others were located in the trunk and limbs. For hidradenocarcinoma, the mean OS and CSS were 164 months and 165.9 months, respectively; the 10-year OS rate and CSS rate were 60.2% and 90.5%, respectively. Survival analysis showed that the primary site, sex, age, race, histologic grade, stage, and surgery are not associated with hidradenocarcinoma patients' OS or CSS. For head and neck hidradenocarcinoma or trunk and limbs hidradenocarcinoma, sex, age, race, histologic grade, AJCC stage, and primary site surgery are still not related to prognosis. Tumour size is correlated with patients' OS rather than CSS.

CONCLUSIONS

Hidradenocarcinoma is a malignant tumour with a good prognosis, which is different from previous views. Tumour size is inversely proportional to patients' overall survival time affecting the OS and CSS of patients. Improving health awareness, initial histological examination and timely surgery are the keys to improving the prognosis.

Transfer-Free Quasi-Suspended Graphene Grown on a Si Wafer

The direct growth of graphene affording wafer-scale uniformity on insulators is paramount to electronic and optoelectronic applications; however, it remains a challenge to date, because it entails an entirely different growth mode than that over metals. Herein, the metal-catalyst-free growth of quasi-suspended graphene on a Si wafer is demonstrated using an interface-decoupling chemical vapor deposition strategy. The employment of lower-than-conventional H₂ dosage and concurrent introduction of methanol during growth can effectively weaken the interaction between the synthesized graphene and the underlying substrate. The growth mode can be thus fine-tuned, producing a predominantly monolayer graphene film with wafer-level homogeneity. Graphene thus grown on a 4 inch Si wafer enables the transfer-free fabrication of high-performance graphene-based field-effect transistor arrays that exhibit almost no shift in the charge neutral point, indicating a quasi-suspended feature of the graphene. Moreover, a carrier mobility up to 15 000 cm² V^-1 s^-1 can be attained. This study is anticipated to offer meaningful insights into the synthesis of wafer-scale high-quality graphene on dielectrics for practical graphene devices.

Target RNA activates the protease activity of Craspase to confer antiviral defense

In the type III-E CRISPR-Cas system, a Cas effector (gRAMP) is associated with a TPR-CHAT to form Craspase (CRISPR-guided caspase). However, both the structural features of gRAMP and the immunity mechanism remain unknown for this system. Here, we report structures of gRAMP-crRNA and gRAMP:cRNA:target RNA as well as structures of Craspase and Craspase complexed with cognate target RNA (CTR) or non-cognate target RNA (NTR). Importantly, the 3' anti-tag region of NTR and CTR binds at two distinct channels in Craspase, and CTR with a non-complementary 3' anti-tag induces a marked conformational change of the TPR-CHAT, which allosterically activates its protease activity to cleave an ancillary protein Csx30. This cleavage then triggers an abortive infection as the antiviral strategy of the type III-E system. Together, our study provides crucial insights into both the catalytic mechanism of the gRAMP and the immunity mechanism of the type III-E system.

Interactions of microplastics with organic, inorganic and bio-pollutants and the ecotoxicological effects on terrestrial and aquatic organisms

As emerging contaminants, microplastics (MPs) have attracted global attention. They are a potential risk to organisms, ecosystems and human health. MPs are characterized by small particle sizes, weak photodegradability, and are good environmental carriers. They can physically adsorb or chemically react with organic, inorganic and bio-pollutants to generate complex binary pollutants or change the environmental behaviors of these pollutants. We systematically reviewed the following aspects of MPs: (i) Adsorption of heavy metals and organic pollutants by MPs and the key environmental factors affecting adsorption behaviors; (ii) Enrichment and release of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) on MPs and the effects of MPs on ARG migration in the environment; (iii) Formation of "plastisphere" and interactions between MPs and microorganisms; (iv) Ecotoxicological effects of MPs and their co-exposures with other pollutants. Finally, scientific knowledge gaps and future research areas on MPs are summarized, including standardization of study methodologies, ecological effects and human health risks of MPs and their combination with other pollutants.

Differential Expression and Functional Prediction of mRNA in the Ovaries of Hanper Sheep of High and Low Fecundity

Hanper ewes that were either monotocous or polytocous provided ovarian follicles of diameter >3 mm in the follicular phase and, in the luteal phase, samples of corpora lutea that had developed from follicles of diameter >3 mm. Differentially expressed mRNAs (monotocous versus polytocous) were then identified and their functions were predicted. Results showed that 1508 mRNAs were differentially expressed in the follicular phase, with 885 being in the luteal tissues. Those which were differentially expressed in the follicular phase were mainly involved in the regulation of the ferroptosis and lysosome signaling pathways whereas, for the luteal tissue, the differentially expressed mRNAs were mainly involved in the regulation of steroid biosynthesis. Based on the results, it was inferred that these pathways could explain variations in the fecundity of sheep.

Ultrapure Blue Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) Emitters Based on Rigid Sulfur/Oxygen-Bridged Triarylboron Acceptor: MR TADF and D-A TADF

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) still face a significant challenge in finding blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters that can achieve narrowband emission and high efficiency. In this work, we successfully design and synthesize a novel kind of TADF emitters based on rigid sulfur/oxygen-bridged triarylboron acceptor for ultrapure blue with narrowband electroluminescence. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations and photophysical results indicate the different intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) character of two emitters. Benefiting from the rigid aromatic framework, both emitters exhibited deep-blue emission at 444 and 447 nm with a small full-width at half-maximum (fwhm) of about 33 nm, and a small singlet (S₁)-triplet (T₁) energy gap (ΔE_ST) of 0.23 and 0.36 eV. Consequently, OLEDs based on PhCz-TOSBA and TPA-TOSBA exhibit deep blue electroluminescence at 456 nm with fwhm of about 55 nm, affording high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 16.69% with CIE coordinates of (0.14, 0.15) and 16.65% with CIE coordinates of (0.14, 0.12), respectively. These findings show that PhCz-TOSBA and TPA-TOSBA are superior emitters in ultrapure blue TADF devices.

Ultrasensitive Mid-Infrared Biosensing in Aqueous Solutions with Graphene Plasmons

Identifying nanoscale biomolecules in aqueous solutions by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) provides an in situ and noninvasive method for exploring the structure, reactions, and transport of biologically active molecules. However, this remains a challenge due to the strong and broad IR absorption of water which overwhelms the respective vibrational fingerprints of the biomolecules. In this work, a tunable IR transparent microfluidic system with graphene plasmons is exploited to identify ≈2 nm-thick proteins in physiological conditions. The acquired in situ tunability makes it possible to eliminate the IR absorption of water outside the graphene plasmonic hotspots by background subtraction. Most importantly, the ultrahigh confinement of graphene plasmons (confined to ≈15 nm) permits the implementation of nanoscale sensitivity. Then, the deuterium effects on monolayer proteins are characterized within an aqueous solution. The tunable graphene-plasmon-enhanced FTIR technology provides a novel platform for studying biological processes in an aqueous solution at the nanoscale.

Preoperative gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI predicts aggressive pathological features in LI-RADS category 5 hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM

To investigate whether Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) imaging features and non-LI-RADS imaging features can predict aggressive pathological features in adult patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From February 2018 to September 2021, 236 adult patients with cirrhosis or hepatitis B virus infection in which liver cancer was suspected underwent MRI within 1 month before surgery. Significant MRI findings and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level predicted high-grade HCC and microvascular invasion (MVI) by univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.

RESULTS

The study included 112 patients with histopathologically confirmed liver cancer (≤5 cm), 35 of whom (31.3%) high-grade HCC and 42 of 112 (37.5%) patients had MVI. Mosaic architecture (odds ratio [OR] = 6.031; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.366, 26.626; p=0.018), coronal enhancement (OR=5.878; 95% CI: 1.471, 23.489; p=0.012), and intratumoural vessels (OR=5.278; 95% CI: 1.325, 21.020; p=0.018) were significant independent predictors of high-grade HCC. A non-smooth tumour margin (OR=10.237; 95% CI: 1.547, 67.760; p=0.016), coronal enhancement (OR=3.800; 95% CI: 1.152, 12.531; p=0.028), and peritumoural hypointensity on the hepatobiliary phase (HBP; OR=10.322; 95% CI: 2.733, 38.986; p=0.001) were significant independent predictors of MVI.

CONCLUSION

In high-risk adult patients with single LR-5 HCC (≤5 cm), mosaic architecture, coronal enhancement, and intratumoural vessels are independent predictors of high-grade HCC. Non-smooth tumour margin, coronal enhancement, and peritumoural hypointensity on HBP independently predicted MVI.

Abstract 704: Development of a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) modeling program to enable pediatric precision medicine

Background: Recapitulation of the full spectrum of genomic changes driving patient tumors have resulted in increased use of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models in studies of basic cancer biology and preclinical drug development. Given the translational potential of PDXs and limited availability of pediatric cancer models, we established a PDX program to expand the existing collection of pediatric PDXs in the community and enable pre- and post-clinical studies.

Methods: PDX generation requests were integrated into clinical workflows to maximize identification of eligible patients for informed consent and tissue collection at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Methodologies for tissue procurement and cryopreservation were optimized to facilitate implantation into host immunodeficient mice and enable multi-institutional tissue exchange for model building. A bioinformatics pipeline was established to allow molecular validation of engrafted PDXs using a next-generation targeted gene panel (MSK-IMPACT) evaluating concordance based on acquired mutations, copy number alterations and clonal structure.

Results: Between November 2016 - October 2021, 379 PDX models were developed (265 distinct models) representing 69 discrete diagnoses. Sarcoma represents the most common model type (50 discrete osteosarcoma, 20 desmoplastic small round cell tumor, 14 Ewing sarcoma, 24 rhabdomyosarcoma, 2 CIC/DUX4 and 2 BCOR-rearranged sarcoma) followed by neuroblastoma (n=35), leukemia (n=44), and Wilms tumor (n=15). While the majority of PDXs were established from recurrent or metastatic tissue, 7 paired diagnostic/pre-therapy and post-therapy or relapse models were generated. Genomic characterization of PDXs demonstrate excellent concordance and recapitulation of single nucleotide variants (90%), structural (88%) and copy number variants (94%) between patient tumor and matched PDX. Discrepancies between matched patient/PDX pairs are due to sub-clonal heterogeneity in source tumors with clonal outgrowth in the PDX. Analysis of serial PDX passages also demonstrate stable recapitulation of the genomic profile. Establishment of a diverse PDX collection allowed preclinical evaluation of 10 targeted agents across a spectrum of pediatric tumors and provided the preclinical rationale for 3 investigator-initiated pediatric clinical trials.

Conclusions: Investment in the development of a phenotypically diverse and biologically faithful collection of pediatric PDX models enables the goals of precision medicine. Optimization of PDX workflows and methods has also enabled the development of a pediatric PDX consortium (PROXC - Pediatric Research in Oncology Xenografting Consortium) to further support the development of pre- and post-clinical studies for pediatric cancer.

Citation Format: Filemon S. Dela Cruz, Joseph G. McCarter, Daoqi You, Nancy Bouvier, Xinyi Wang, Kristina C. Guillan, Armaan H. Siddiquee, Katie B. Souto, Hongyan Li, Teng Gao, Dominik Glodzik, Daniel Diolaiti, Neerav N. Shukla, Joachim Silber, Umeshkumar K. Bhanot, Faruk Erdem Kombak, Diego F. Coutinho, Shanita Li, Juan E. Arango Ossa, Juan S. Medina-Martinez, Michael V. Ortiz, Emily K. Slotkin, Michael D. Kinnaman, Sameer F. Sait, Tara J. O'Donohue, Marissa Mattar, Maximiliano Meneses, Michael P. LaQuaglia, Todd E. Heaton, Justin T. Gerstle, Nicola Fabbri, Chelsey M. Burke, Irene M. Rodriquez-Sanchez, Christine A. Iacobuzio-Donahue, Julia L. Glade Bender, Ryan D. Roberts, Jason T. Yustein, Nino C. Rainusso, Brian D. Crompton, Elizabeth Stewart, Alejandro Sweet-Cordero, Leanne C. Sayles, Andrika D. Thomas, Michael H. Roehrl, Elisa de Stanchina, Elli Papaemmanuil, Andrew L. Kung. Development of a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) modeling program to enable pediatric precision medicine [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 704.

POS1050 UPADACITINIB VERSUS ADALIMUMAB ON ROUTINE ASSESSMENT OF PATIENT INDEX DATA 3 (RAPID3) IN PATIENTS WITH PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS

Background

RAPID3 (Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3) is a disease activity index that is calculated from 3 patient-reported measures: physical function, pain, and patient global assessment. A fast and convenient tool, RAPID3 can be easily used in clinical practice and is applicable to multiple rheumatic diseases, including psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and was shown to correlate with other clinical composite measures of disease activity1. Here, we assessed the long-term effect of upadacitinib (UPA), an oral JAK inhibitor, and adalimumab (ADA) on RAPID3 scores in patients with PsA via a post hoc analysis from the SELECT-PsA 1 phase 3 trial2,3.

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of treatment with UPA vs ADA on RAPID3 through 56 weeks in SELECT-PsA 1, as well as the association of RAPID3 with other disease measures used in PsA.

Methods

Data are from the double-blind SELECT-PsA 1 trial, in which patients with PsA and an inadequate response or intolerance to ≥1 non-biologic DMARD received UPA 15 mg or 30 mg once daily, ADA 40 mg every other week (wk), or placebo (PBO; switched at wk 24 to either UPA 15 mg or 30 mg). This analysis included data from the UPA 15 mg, ADA, and PBO treatment arms. RAPID3 endpoints were calculated using pain scores, patient’s global assessment of disease activity, and HAQ-DI (each rescaled to 0–10 in this analysis); summed together, RAPID3 scores range from 0 (no disease activity) to 30 (severe activity). Mean change from baseline (BL) in RAPID3 as well as the proportions of patients reporting minimal clinically important differences (MCID) in RAPID3 and RAPID3 remission (≤3), low (LDA, >3 to ≤6), moderate (MDA, >6 to ≤12), and high disease activity (HDA, >12) were assessed through wk 56. Associations between RAPID3 scores and disease activity in psoriatic arthritis (DAPSA) and Minimal Disease Activity (MDA)/Very Low Disease Activity (VLDA) were determined by Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test. All data are as observed.

Results

A total of 1,274 patients (PBO: n=421; UPA 15 mg: n=425; ADA: n=428) were included from SELECT-PsA 1. RAPID3 scores at BL were comparable across all treatment arms, and most patients were in HDA. Patients receiving UPA showed a greater improvement from BL in RAPID3 vs ADA at all visits from wk 16 to wk 56 as well as better responses compared with PBO at all assessments (Figure 1). Similarly, a higher proportion of patients treated with UPA achieved MCID in RAPID3 scores than those on ADA from wk 24 to wk 56. By wk 56, approximately half of patients on either therapy were in RAPID3 remission or LDA, with UPA showing a slight numerical improvement relative to ADA (30/21/31/18% of patients were in remission/LDA/MDA/HDA on UPA vs 28/17/30/25% on ADA). RAPID3 disease categories were strongly associated with DAPSA and MDA/VLDA status at wk 56 across all treatment arms pooled together (Table 1) and for the UPA 15 mg arm alone (nominal P <0.0001 for all associations).

Table 1.

Association of RAPID3 With DAPSA and MDA/VLDA Across All Treatment Arms at Week 56a

RAPID3n (%)Moderate-High [>6]Low [3 - ≤6]Remission [≤3]DAPSA (n=879) Moderate-High [>14]292 (33)33 (4)14 (2) Low [4 - ≤14]154 (18)122 (14)87 (10) Remission [≤4]6 (1)21 (2)150 (17)MDA/VLDA (n=907) Not in MDA410 (45)39 (4)5 (1) MDA but not VLDA63 (7)129 (14)80 (9) VLDA013 (1)168 (19)

aDAPSA vs RAPID3 and MDA/VLDA vs RAPID3 were nominally significant at P <0.0001. Data were pooled across UPA 15 mg, ADA, and PBO to UPA 15 mg groups.

Conclusion

UPA 15 mg treatment led to greater improvements over PBO in RAPID3 scores over 56 wks in patients with PsA, and greater improvements over ADA from wk 16 to 56. The majority of patients achieved MCID in RAPID3 after 12 wks of UPA or ADA, with higher proportions achieving MCID on UPA vs ADA by wk 24. RAPID3 was strongly associated with other joint-focused (DAPSA) or multiple manifestation (MDA/VLDA) composite measures, further supporting the utility of RAPID3 in assessing disease activity in PsA.

References

[1]Coates LC, et al. Arthritis Care Res 2018; 70:1198-1205.

[2]McInnes IB, et al. N Engl J Med 2021; 384:1227-39.

[3]McInnes IB, et al. RMD Open 2021; 7: e001838.

Acknowledgements

AbbVie and the authors thank the patients, study sites, and investigators who participated in these clinical trials. AbbVie funded these studies and participated in the study design, research, analysis, data collection, interpretation of data, reviewing, and approval of the publication. All authors had access to relevant data and participated in the drafting, review, and approval of this publication. No honoraria or payments were made for authorship. Medical writing support was provided by Matthew Eckwahl, PhD, of AbbVie.

Disclosure of Interests

Laura Coates Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Janssen, Medac, Novartis, Pfizer and UCB., Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Galapagos, Janssen, Moonlake, Novartis, Pfizer and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer and UCB, Arthur Kavanaugh Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, BMS, Celgene, Centocor-Janssen, Pfizer, Roche, and UCB., Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, BMS, Celgene, Centocor-Janssen, Pfizer, Roche, and UCB., Erin McDearmon-Blondell Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, Arthur Mandelin Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Pfizer, BMS, and Horizon, Consultant of: Served on advisory board at CVS Caremark, Tianming Gao Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, William Tillett Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Celgene, Lilly, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Celgene, Lilly, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB

POS1025 COMPARISON OF COMPOSITE INDICES FOR DISEASE ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS TREATED WITH UPADACITINIB: A POST-HOC ANALYSIS FROM SELECT-PsA 1

Background

Achieving low disease activity (LDA) or remission is a main treatment target in PsA. Composite indices used to assess disease activity include Disease Activity index for PsA (DAPSA) and PsA Disease Activity Score (PASDAS), which both have cut points for the states of remission and LDA. In addition, LDA and remission can be assessed by the pure state instrument Minimal Disease Activity (MDA)/Very Low Disease Activity (VLDA).

Objectives

These analyses aim to identify overlap and differences between these composite indices in PsA patients treated with upadacitinib (UPA), a Janus kinase inhibitor, or adalimumab (ADA) in the phase 3 SELECT-PsA 1 trial.

Methods

In SELECT-PsA 1 (phase 3, randomized controlled trial, with long-term extension up to 5 years), patients with moderate to severely active PsA with prior inadequate response or intolerance to ≥1 non-biologic DMARD were randomized to oral UPA at doses of 15 mg or 30 mg (once daily), subcutaneous ADA 40 mg (every other week), or placebo.1 LDA was assessed using MDA (threshold: 5/7 criteria), DAPSA (≤14), PASDAS (≤3.2), and Patient Global Assessment of Disease Activity (PtGA; ≤3).2,3 These post-hoc descriptive analyses include 1-year (cut off: week 56) as observed data from UPA 15 mg and ADA.

Results

In total, 858 patients (UPA 15 mg: n=429; ADA: n=429) were included in these analyses. Patients receiving UPA and ADA were on average 52 years of age, 54% were female, with an average disease duration of approximately 6 years.1 With both UPA and ADA, there was a high degree of overlap in the proportion of patients achieving LDA thresholds in MDA, DAPSA, and PASDAS (Figure 1), with reported PtGA improvements showing a similar trend. Defining LDA according to MDA or respective cut points for DAPSA, PASDAS, or PtGA, the proportion of “non-responders” (ie, patients who did not reach such states) is shown in Figure 2. Of the individual components included in these indices, fewer patients reported low levels of SF-36 Physical Component Summary (SF36-PCS), Patient Assessment of Pain Numeric Rating Scale (Pain NRS), and Health Assessment Questionnaire - Disability Index (HAQ-DI) scores, as well as Tender Joint Count 68 (TJC68), with similar responses observed across all indices.

Conclusion

In this post-hoc analysis from the SELECT-PsA 1 trial, there was a high degree of overlap between patients in LDA across the composite indices, including MDA, DAPSA, and PASDAS, irrespective of treatment with UPA 15 mg or ADA and despite variability in inclusion of certain components in some indices but not others. Across all indices, fewer patients reported low levels of SF36-PCS, Pain NRS, and HAQ-DI scores, and TJC68. These data show that improvements in (subjective) “patient-driven” components were the most challenging to achieve. These data indicate a similar pattern of residual disease activity, or influence by residual damage or external factors, regardless of composite endpoint utilized.

References

[1]McInnes IB et al. N Engl J Med. 2021; 384(13):1227-39

[2]Kerschbaumer et al. Baillieres Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2018; 32:401-14

[3]Gorlier et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2019; 78:201-208

Acknowledgements

AbbVie funded these studies and participated in the study design, research, analysis, data collection, interpretation of data, reviewing, and approval of the publication. No honoraria or payments were made for authorship. Medical writing support was provided by Monica R.P. Elmore, PhD of AbbVie.

Disclosure of Interests

Josef S. Smolen Consultant of: AbbVie, BMS, Celgene, Chugai, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, MSD, Novartis-Sandoz, Pfizer, Roche, Samsung, Sanofi, and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, BMS, Celgene, Chugai, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, MSD, Novartis-Sandoz, Pfizer, Roche, Samsung, Sanofi, and UCB, Ennio Lubrano Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Celgene, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, and Pfizer, Consultant of: AbbVie, Celgene, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, and Pfizer, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Celgene, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, and Pfizer, Mitsumasa Kishimoto Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen-Astellas BioPharma, Asahi-Kasei Pharma, Astellas, Ayumi Pharma, BMS, Celgene, Chugai, Daiichi-Sankyo, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, Kyowa Kirin, Novartis, Ono Pharma, Pfizer, Tanabe-Mitsubishi, and UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen-Astellas BioPharma, Asahi-Kasei Pharma, Astellas, Ayumi Pharma, BMS, Celgene, Chugai, Daiichi-Sankyo, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, Kyowa Kirin, Novartis, Ono Pharma, Pfizer, Tanabe-Mitsubishi, and UCB, Andra Balanescu Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Angellini, Astra-Zeneca, Berlin-Chemie, BMS, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, Teva, UCB, and Zentiva, Consultant of: AbbVie, Pfizer, and Ewopharma, Vibeke Strand Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Arena, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Eli Lilly, Genentech/Roche, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Ichnos, Inmedix, Janssen, Kiniksa, Merck, Myriad Genetics, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Samsung, Sandoz, Sanofi, Setpoint, and UCB, Tianming Gao Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., Nancy Vranich Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., Ralph Lippe Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., William Tillett Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc.

AB0904 Evaluating Numeric Rating Scale Versions of the 3 and 4 Visual Analog Scale (3/4-VAS) Composite Measures in Patients with Active Psoriatic Arthritis from the SELECT-PsA Program

Background

The multifaceted nature of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can make it challenging to evaluate treatment targets and disease activity. Moreover, most existing assessment tools are time-consuming and not always feasible in routine clinical care, indicating a need for new disease measures that are easy to perform and calculate. Composite measures using 3-visual analog scale (VAS; physician’s global assessment, patient’s global assessment, and skin) or 4-VAS (physician’s global assessment, joints, skin, and pain) have been proposed as simpler alternatives.1 Given potential advantages of numeric rating scales (NRS) over VAS, we here adapted 3/4-VAS for use with NRS components and tested its validity via post hoc analysis of the upadacitinib (UPA) SELECT-PsA program.

Objectives

Evaluate the ability of 3/4-NRS scores to assess treatment response in SELECT-PsA 1 and 2, as well as the correlation of 3/4-NRS with other common disease activity measures.

Methods

Data are from the SELECT-PsA 1 and 2 phase 3 trials in patients with prior inadequate response or intolerance to ≥1 non-biologic DMARD or ≥1 biologic DMARD, respectively. In both trials, patients received once daily UPA 15 mg, UPA 30 mg, or placebo (PBO); SELECT-PsA 1 also included the active comparator adalimumab (ADA) 40 mg every other week (wk). 3-NRS scores were determined using the mean of SAPS questions 1–10, physician’s global assessment of disease activity, and patient’s global assessment of disease activity; 4-NRS scores were determined using the mean of SAPS questions 1–10, physician’s global assessment of disease activity, patient’s assessment of pain, and BASDAI question 3 related to joint pain and swelling. The 3/4-NRS scale ranges from 0 (no disease activity) to 10 (severe activity). 3/4-NRS and cDAPSA (DAPSA without the CRP component) were assessed at all available visits through wk 56. Correlations between 3/4-NRS with PsA disease activity score (PASDAS), routine assessment of patient index data 3 (RAPID3), DAPSA, cDAPSA, and other disease activity measures were determined by nonparametric Spearman rank correlation coefficient for UPA 15 mg patients from both trials and ADA for SELECT-PsA 1. All data are shown as observed; nominal p-values are provided throughout.

Results

A total of 1281 and 423 patients were included from SELECT-PsA 1 and 2, respectively. For both cDAPSA and 3/4-NRS scores, patients receiving UPA 15 mg showed clear numerical improvements compared with PBO at wk 24 in both trials (Table 1). 3/4-NRS scores were highly correlated with RAPID3 and PASDAS measures (r >0.6, P <0.0001) for UPA 15 mg patients at baseline (Figure 1). Moderate correlations were observed between 3/4-NRS and DAPSA/cDAPSA (r = ~0.4, P <0.0001), as well as physical function (HAQ-DI) and quality of life measures (SF-36). Nominally significant but weaker correlations were detected for joints, skin, and other disease activity assessments. Similar overall results were observed for patients receiving ADA.

Table 1.

3/4-NRS and cDAPSA Disease Activity Scores at Week 24 and 56 (As Observed)

SELECT-PsA 1Wk 24Wk 56Mean score [n]PBOUPA 15 mgADAUPA 15 mgADA3-NRS3.7 [370]2.2 [398]2.4 [398]1.8 [372]2.0 [359]4-NRS3.8 [367]2.3 [392]2.6 [395]1.9 [367]2.2 [357]cDAPSA24.0 [372]14.9 [399]16.6 [400]10.2 [372]11.3 [358]SELECT-PsA 2Wk 24Wk 56Mean score [n]PBOUPA 15 mgUPA 15 mg3-NRS4.7 [172]2.9 [190]2.4 [164]4-NRS4.9 [170]3.1 [188]2.7 [162]cDAPSA37.1 [172]21.6 [190]15.3 [166]

3/4-NRS ranges from 0–10; cDAPSA ranges from 0–154. Lower scores indicate decreased disease activity.

Conclusion

3/4-NRS was able to successfully discriminate between PBO and therapeutic groups in SELECT-PsA 1 and 2. 3/4-NRS scores correlated well with other clinical and patient reported outcome measures, including those focused on joints (DAPSA) or multiple manifestations (PASDAS), supporting 3/4-NRS as a viable and easy to use tool in daily clinical practice.

References

[1]Tillett W, et al. J Rheumatol 2021; 201675.

Acknowledgements

AbbVie and the authors thank the patients, study sites, and investigators who participated in these clinical trials. AbbVie funded these studies and participated in the study design, research, analysis, data collection, interpretation of data, reviewing, and approval of the publication. All authors had access to relevant data and participated in the drafting, review, and approval of this publication. No honoraria or payments were made for authorship. Medical writing support was provided by Matthew Eckwahl, PhD, of AbbVie.

Disclosure of Interests

William Tillett Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Celgene, Lilly, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Celgene, Lilly, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB., Laura Coates Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Medac, Novartis, Pfizer, Serac, and UCB., Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Medac, Novartis, Pfizer, Serac, and UCB., Mitsumasa Kishimoto Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen-Astellas BioPharma, Asahi-Kasei Pharma, Astellas, Ayumi Pharma, BMS, Celgene, Chugai, Daiichi-Sankyo, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, Kyowa Kirin, Novartis, Ono Pharma, Pfizer, Tanabe-Mitsubishi, Teijin Pharma, and UCB Pharma., Arathi Setty Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, Tianming Gao Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, Ralph Lippe Shareholder of: AbbVie, Employee of: AbbVie, Philip Helliwell Paid instructor for: Educational services: Abbvie, Amgen, Novartis, Janssen, Consultant of: Eli Lilly

POS0934 EFFICACY OF UPADACITINIB ON PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS WITH AXIAL INVOLVEMENT DEFINED BY INVESTIGATOR ASSESSMENT AND PRO-BASED CRITERIA: RESULTS FROM TWO PHASE 3 STUDIES

Background

Patients with PsA and axial involvement have higher disease activity and greater reductions in quality of life;1 however, there are no accepted criteria for identifying axial involvement in PsA.

Objectives

The objective of this post-hoc analysis is to assess the efficacy of upadacitinib (UPA), a Janus kinase inhibitor, on axial symptoms in patients with active PsA and axial involvement defined by investigator assessment and PRO-based criteria from two phase 3 SELECT trials.2,3

Methods

Patients with active PsA (≥3 swollen joints and ≥3 tender joints) and prior inadequate response or intolerance to ≥1 non-biologic (SELECT-PsA 1) or ≥1 biologic (SELECT-PsA 2) DMARD were randomly assigned to once daily oral UPA 15 mg or 30 mg, placebo (PBO), or every other week subcutaneous adalimumab (ADA) 40 mg (SELECT-PsA 1 only).2,3 At baseline, axial involvement in PsA was determined by investigator assessment based on the totality of clinical information, such as duration and character of back pain, age of onset, and previous imaging. In addition to investigator assessment, PRO-based criteria for axial involvement (BASDAI ≥4 and BASDAI Question 2 ≥4 at baseline) were applied for this analysis to identify patients with active disease. Efficacy in the sub-group of patients defined using both investigator assessment and PRO-based criteria was evaluated at week 24 for UPA 15 mg vs PBO and ADA (SELECT-PsA 1 only). Data were analyzed using mixed-effect model repeated measures (MMRM) or non-responder imputation (NRI), with nominal P-values shown.

Results

Based on investigator assessment alone, 31.3% (n=534/1704) of patients in SELECT-PsA 1 and 34.2% (n=219/641) in SELECT-PsA 2 were defined as having axial involvement. When both investigator assessment and PRO-based criteria were applied, 23.1% (n=393/1704) of patients in SELECT-PsA 1, or 73.6% (n=393/534) of those defined using investigator assessment alone, and 27.5% (n=176/641) in SELECT-PsA 2, or 80.4% (n=176/219) using investigator assessment alone, met the combined criteria for axial involvement. In both studies, UPA 15 mg showed significantly greater clinical responses vs PBO at week 24 across all endpoints assessed (Figure 1). In SELECT-PsA 1, UPA showed numerically greater responses than ADA at week 24 across all BASDAI and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) endpoints. The proportion of patients achieving ASDAS clinically important improvement (CII) at week 24 was significantly greater with UPA vs ADA based on nominal P-value.

Conclusion

Patients with active PsA and axial involvement defined by both investigator assessment and PRO-based criteria demonstrated statistically greater clinical responses related to their axial involvement with UPA 15 mg compared to PBO, and consistently numerically higher responses compared to ADA, at week 24 in the SELECT-PsA trials. Findings from this post-hoc analysis are consistent with previous data based on investigator assessment alone.4

References

[1]Mease PJ et al. J Rheumatol. 2018; 45(10):1389-96

[2]McInnes IB et al. N Engl J Med. 2021; 384(13):1227-39

[3]Mease PJ et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020; 80(3):312-20

[4]Deodhar A et al. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020; 72(Suppl 10)

Acknowledgements

AbbVie funded these studies and participated in the study design, research, analysis, data collection, interpretation of data, reviewing, and approval of the publication. No honoraria or payments were made for authorship. Medical writing support was provided by Monica R.P. Elmore, PhD of AbbVie.

Disclosure of Interests

Xenofon Baraliakos Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Chugai, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Chugai, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Chugai, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, R Ranza Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Janssen, Novartis, and Pfizer, Consultant of: AbbVie, Janssen, Novartis, and Pfizer, Andrew Ostor Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Gilead, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and Roche, Consultant of: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Gilead, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and Roche, francesco ciccia Consultant of: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Janssen, Sanofi, Sandoz, Galapagos, Sobi, and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Celgene, Pfizer, Roche, and UCB, Laura Coates Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Janssen, Sanofi, Sandoz, Galapagos, Sobi, and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Celgene, Pfizer, Roche, and UCB, Simona Rednic Consultant of: AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, and Pfizer, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Jessica A. Walsh Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB, Tianming Gao Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., Apinya Lertratanakul Shareholder of: Formerly of AbbVie, Employee of: Former employee of AbbVie, In-Ho Song Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., Fabiana Ganz Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., Kevin Douglas Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., Atul Deodhar Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Aurinia, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, MoonLake, Novartis, Pfizer and UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, GSK, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer and UCB

Bone Marrow Surveillance of Pediatric Cancer Survivors Identifies Clones that Predict Therapy-Related Leukemia

PURPOSE

Therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute leukemias (t-MDS/AL) are a major cause of nonrelapse mortality among pediatric cancer survivors. Although the presence of clonal hematopoiesis (CH) in adult patients at cancer diagnosis has been implicated in t-MDS/AL, there is limited published literature describing t-MDS/AL development in children.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

We performed molecular characterization of 199 serial bone marrow samples from 52 patients treated for high-risk neuroblastoma, including 17 with t-MDS/AL (transformation), 14 with transient cytogenetic abnormalities (transient), and 21 without t-MDS/AL or cytogenetic alterations (neuroblastoma-treated control). We also evaluated for CH in a cohort of 657 pediatric patients with solid tumor.

RESULTS

We detected at least one disease-defining alteration in all cases at t-MDS/AL diagnosis, most commonly TP53 mutations and KMT2A rearrangements, including involving two novel partner genes (PRDM10 and DDX6). Backtracking studies identified at least one t-MDS/AL-associated mutation in 13 of 17 patients at a median of 15 months before t-MDS/AL diagnosis (range, 1.3-32.4). In comparison, acquired mutations were infrequent in the transient and control groups (4/14 and 1/21, respectively). The relative risk for development of t-MDS/AL in the presence of an oncogenic mutation was 8.8 for transformation patients compared with transient. Unlike CH in adult oncology patients, TP53 mutations were only detectable after initiation of cancer therapy. Last, only 1% of pediatric patients with solid tumor evaluated had CH involving myeloid genes.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrate the clinical relevance of identifying molecular abnormalities in predicting development of t-MDS/AL and should guide the formation of intervention protocols to prevent this complication in high-risk pediatric patients.

Novel insights into heat tolerance using metabolomic and high-throughput sequencing analysis in dairy cows rumen fluid

Heat stress influences rumen fermentative processes with effects on the physiology and production of dairy cows. However, the underlying relationship between rumen microbiota and its associated metabolism with heat tolerance in cows have not been extensively described yet. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate differential heat resistance in Holstein cows using rumen bacterial and metabolome analyses. We performed both principal component analysis and membership function analysis to select seven heat-tolerant (HT) and seven heat-sensitive (HS) cows. Under heat stress conditions, the HT cows had a significantly (P < 0.05) higher propionic acid content than the HS cows; while measures of the respiratory rate, acetic, and butyric acid in the HT cows were significantly (P < 0.05) lower compared with the HS cows. Also, the HT cows showed lower (P < 0.01) rectal temperature and acetic acid to propionic acid ratio than the HS group of cows. Omics sequencing revealed that the relative abundances of Muribaculaceae, Rikenellaceae, Acidaminococcaceae, Christensenellaceae, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Succiniclasticum, Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group and Christensenellaceae_R-7_group were significantly (P < 0.01) higher in the HT cows; whereas Prevotellaceae, Prevotella_1, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, and Shuttleworthia were significantly (P < 0.01) lower in HT cows compared to HS cows. Substances mainly involved in carbohydrate metabolism, including glycerol, mannitol, and maltose, showed significantly higher content in the HT cows (P < 0.05) compared to that in the HS cows. Simultaneously, distinct metabolites were significantly correlated with differential bacteria, suggesting that glycerol, mannitol, and maltose could serve as potential biomarkers for determining heat resistance that require further study. Overall, distinct changes in the rumen microbiota and metabolomics in the HT cows may be associated with a better adaptability to heat stress. These findings suggest their use as diagnostic tools of heat tolerance in dairy cattle breeding schemes.

Inter-annual variation and comprehensive evaluation of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in the Yellow Sea, China

Considering the extensive production and continuous usage of organophosphate esters (OPEs) around the urbanized coasts in recent years, the inter-annual variation and the ecological risks of OPEs in the Yellow Sea (YS), China were systematically evaluated in summer 2015 and 2019. The major component of OPEs, halogenated-OPEs in 78 surface and bottom seawater samples collected from 39 locations in the YS in 2019 were compared with 62 samples at 31 sites conducted in the same periods and similar stations in 2015. The average concentration of halogenated-OPEs increased 1.57, 2.50 folds in the surface and bottom seawater, respectively, in recent 5 years. The proportion of TCPP to halogenated-OPEs exhibited an increasing trend from 56.49% in 2015 to 79.95% in 2019. The peak values of halogenated-OPEs changed from the nearshore regions (33°N-38°N) in 2015 to the nearshore and offshore regions (33°N-35°N) in 2019, implying the growing terrigenous emission sources, especially some large OPEs producers nearby the coastal zones in the northern area of Jiangsu province. The targeted halogenated-OPEs posed no significant or low ecological risks to the aquatic organisms in 2015 and 2019, however, the values of RQ showed an elevated trend in 2019. Therefore, the ecological risks of OPEs in this region still need continuous concern due to the gradually increasing OPEs usage and production.

Mechanistic insights into the inhibition of the CRISPR-Cas Surveillance Complex by anti-CRISPR protein AcrIF13

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins provide prokaryotes with nucleic acid–based adaptive immunity against infections of mobile genetic elements, including phages. To counteract this immune process, phages have evolved various anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins which deactivate CRISPR-Cas–based immunity. However, the mechanisms of many of these Acr-mediated inhibitions are not clear. Here, we report the crystal structure of AcrIF13 and explore its inhibition mechanism. The structure of AcrIF13 is unique and displays a negatively charged surface. Additionally, biochemical studies identified that AcrIF13 interacts with the type I-F CRISPR-Cas surveillance complex (Csy complex) to block target DNA recognition and that the Cas5f-8f tail and Cas7.6f subunit of the Csy complex are specific binding targets of AcrIF13. Further mutational studies demonstrated that several negatively charged residues of AcrIF13 and positively charged residues of Cas8f and Cas7f of the Csy complex are involved in AcrIF13–Csy binding. Together, our findings provide mechanistic insights into the inhibition mechanism of AcrIF13 and further suggest the prevalence of the function of Acr proteins as DNA mimics.

Characteristics and diversity of microbial communities in lead-zinc tailings under heavy metal stress in north-west China

High-throughput 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA sequencing were performed to study the changes of soil microbial diversity and community structure under different heavy metal pollution levels in Chengxian lead-zinc mining area, Gansu Province. In this study, we characterized the main physicochemical properties, multiple heavy metal pollution, and microbial community structure of the soil in the tailings. The results show that the soil near the tailings pond was alkaline, barren and the heavy metals were seriously polluted. The microbial diversity and richness of S1 and S2 sites were significantly lower than that of CK2 site (P < 0·05), indicating that the heavy metal pollution could change the physicochemical properties and microbial community structure in soil. Among 97 identified core operating taxa of fungal communities, Ascomycota, Teguta and Basidiomycota were dominant at the phylum level, while among 1523 identified core operating taxa of bacterial communities, Actinomycota was dominant at the phylum level. In addition, the redundancy analysis and Spearman correlation analysis showed that the physicochemical properties and the heavy metal concentration had significant effects on the composition and distribution of soil microbial community. The basic characteristics of soil physicochemical properties, multiple heavy metal pollution and microbial community structure in the tailings were revealed, hoping to provide a basis for ecological rehabilitation of tailings by revealing the variance rule of microbial community diversity in the future.

[Evaluation of developmental toxicity of ammonium dinitramide by micromass culture and embryonic stem cells models]

Objective: To evaluated the potential developmental toxicity and teratogenicity of ammonium dinitroamide (ADN) by micromass test (MM Test) and embryonic stem cell test models. Methods: In September 2018, rat embryos were isolated and limb bud cells were collected. The limb bud cells were treated with different concentrations of ADN (0, 312.50, 625.00, 1250.00, 2500.00, 5000.00, 10000.00 μg/ml) . Half proliferation inhibitory concentration and half differentiation inhibitory concentration were calculated and the teratogenic effects were evaluated according to the criteria. For the embryonic stem cell test, the effects of different concentrations of ADN (0, 39.06, 78.13, 156.25, 312.50, 625.00, 1250.00, 2500.00 μg/ml) on the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) into myocardial cells and the cytotoxicity of mESCs and 3T3 cells were detected. The embryonic toxicity was evaluated according to the criteria. In this study, both 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) , a known strong embryonic toxic drug, and penicillin-G (P-G) , a non-embryonic toxic drug, were used to verify the effectiveness of the model, and the validated test model was applied to evaluate the embryonic toxicity of ADN. Results: In the MM Test, the inhibition rates of proliferation and differentiation of limb bud cells in ADN groups were higher than that in control group (P<0.05) . And the half proliferation inhibitory concentration and half differentiation inhibitory concentration of ADN on limb bud cells were 7480.32 and 4526.09 μg/ml, respectively. ADN was determined to be non-teratogenic by standard. In the embryonic stem cell test, the inhibition rates of mESCs proliferation in ADN groups were higher than that in control group, and the inhibition rates of 3T3 cells in 156.25, 312.50, 625.00, 1250.00, 2500.00 μg/ml ADN groups were higher than that in control group (P<0.05) . The half proliferation inhibitory concentration and half differentiation inhibitory concentration of ADN on mESCs were 1851.73 and 1796.39 μg/ml, respectively, and the half proliferation inhibitory concentration on 3T3 cells was 3334.35 μg/ml. ADN was determined to be non-embryotoxic by standard. Conclusion: After evaluation by MM Test and embryonic stem cell models, ADN has no embryo toxicity and is a non-teratogenic substance.

Grindability of carbon fiber reinforced polymer using CNT biological lubricant

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) easily realizes the integrated manufacturing of components with high specific strength and stiffness, and it has become the preferred material in the aerospace field. Grinding is the key approach to realize precision parts and matching the positioning surface for assembly and precision. Hygroscopicity limits the application of flood lubrication in CFRP grinding, and dry grinding leads to large force, surface deterioration, and wheel clogging. To solve the above technical bottleneck, this study explored the grindability and frictional behavior of CNT biological lubricant MQL through grinding experiments and friction-wear tests. Results showed that the CNT biological lubricant reduced the friction coefficient by 53.47% compared with dry condition, showing optimal and durable antifriction characteristics. The new lubrication was beneficial to suppressing the removal of multifiber block debris, tensile fracture, and tensile-shear fracture, with the advantages of tribological properties and material removal behavior, the tangential and normal grinding force, and the specific grinding energy were reduced by 40.41%, 31.46%, and 55.78%, respectively, compared with dry grinding. The proposed method reduced surface roughness and obtained the optimal surface morphology by preventing burrs, fiber pull-out, and resin smearing, and wheel clogging was prevented by temperature reduction and lubricating oil film formation. S_a and S_q of the CNT biological lubricant were reduced by 8.4% and 7.9%, respectively, compared with dry grinding. This study provides a practical basis for further application of CNT biological lubricant in CFRP grinding.

Clonal hematopoiesis is associated with risk of severe Covid-19

Acquired somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (clonal hematopoiesis or CH) are associated with advanced age, increased risk of cardiovascular and malignant diseases, and decreased overall survival. These adverse sequelae may be mediated by altered inflammatory profiles observed in patients with CH. A pro-inflammatory immunologic profile is also associated with worse outcomes of certain infections, including SARS-CoV-2 and its associated disease Covid-19. Whether CH predisposes to severe Covid-19 or other infections is unknown. Among 525 individuals with Covid-19 from Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) and the Korean Clonal Hematopoiesis (KoCH) consortia, we show that CH is associated with severe Covid-19 outcomes (OR = 1.85, 95%=1.15-2.99, p = 0.01), in particular CH characterized by non-cancer driver mutations (OR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.15-3.50, p = 0.01). We further explore the relationship between CH and risk of other infections in 14,211 solid tumor patients at MSK. CH is significantly associated with risk of Clostridium Difficile (HR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.22-3.30, p = 6×10-3) and Streptococcus/Enterococcus infections (HR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.15-2.13, p = 5×10-3). These findings suggest a relationship between CH and risk of severe infections that warrants further investigation.

Roles of melatonin in the field of reproductive medicine

Melatonin, mostly released by the pineal gland, is a circadian rhythm-regulated and multifunctional hormone. Great advances in melatonin research have been made, including its role in rhythms of the sleep-wake cycle, retardation of ageing processes, as well as antioxidant or anti-inflammatory functions. Melatonin can scavenge free radicals such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), a key factor in reproductive functions. Melatonin plays an important role in oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryonic development as well. The concurrent use of melatonin increases the number of mature oocytes, the fertilization rate, and number of high-quality embryos, which improves the clinical outcome of assisted reproductive technology (ART). This review discusses the relationship between melatonin and human reproductive function, and potential clinical applications of melatonin in the field of reproductive medicine.