[Clinical Features and Response to Treatment in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients with Deletion 17P]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical features and response to therapies in multiple myeloma (MM) patients with del (17p).

METHODS

A total of 122 newly diagnosed MM patients hospitalized in the Department of Hematology of Peking University Third Hospital between October 2012 and September 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. The fluorescent in situ hybridization(FISH) and G-binding staining were used for detection of cytogenetic abnormalities. These MM patients with del (17p) were divided into non-bortezomib chemotherapy (VAD or CHOP) group and bortezomib chemotherapy (PAD or PCD) group. Response criteria was according to IMWG criteria, including complete remission (CR), very good partial remission (VGPR), partial remission (PR), stable disease (SD), overall response rate (ORR) was defined as CR+VGPR+PR. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate overall survival (OS) and progressive free survival (PFS).

RESULTS

Cytogenetic abnormalities were detected in 60 patients, and the frequency of del(17p) was 10.7% (13 of the 122 patients). For the 13 MM patients with del(17p), median age was 59 years old, male vs female ratio was 8:5, 7 patients were found to have soft tissue plasmacytoma at the time of diagnosis, and IgG accounted for 61.5% (8/13). The frequency of coexisting other cytogenetic abnormalities was 53.8% (7/13); del(13q14) (D13S319 and/or RB1) accounted for 30.8%(4/13), and gain (1q21) 23.1%(3/13), 13 patients were able to be evaluated for the response, ORR were 33.3%(2/6) vs 100.0%(7/7), VGPR 0% vs 57.1%, PR 33.3% vs 42.9%, PD 50.0% vs 0% in non-bortezomib chemotherapy and bortezomib groups, respectively (P=0.042). 4 patients received 50 Gy radiotherapy for soft tissue plasmacytoma, no responses were observed. With a median follow up of 14(2.0-40)months, median PFS and OS time were 6(95% CI0.9-11.1) months and 21(95% CI9.0-33.0) months, respectively. Median OS in bortezomib groups was significant longer than that in the non-bortezomib groups, not reachable vs 10.8(95%CI3.4-16.6) months (P=0.017).

CONCLUSION

MM with del(17p) shows high frequency of soft tissue plasmacytoma, and high prevalence of coexisting gain(1q21) and del(13q14). These patients are not sensitive to non-bortezomib chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and has a poor survival. Bortezomib are able to improve the outcome of these MM patients.

Apparent diffusion coefficient maps obtained from high b value diffusion-weighted imaging in the preoperative evaluation of gliomas at 3T: comparison with standard b value diffusion-weighted imaging

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether ADC maps obtained from high b value DWI were more valuable in preoperatively evaluating the grade, Ki-67 index and outcome of gliomas.

METHODS

Sixty-three patients with gliomas, who underwent preoperative multi b value DWI at 3 T, were enrolled. The ADC₁₀₀₀, ADC₂₀₀₀ and ADC₃₀₀₀ maps were generated. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to determine the area under the curve (AUC) in differentiating high-grade gliomas (HGG) from low-grade gliomas (LGG). Pearson correlation coefficients (R value) were calculated to investigate the correlation between parameters with the Ki-67 proliferation index. Survival analysis was conducted by using Cox regression.

RESULTS

The AUC of the mean ADC₁₀₀₀ value (0.820) was lower than that of the mean ADC₂₀₀₀ value (0.847) and mean ADC₃₀₀₀ value (0.875) in differentiating HGG from LGG. The R value of the mean ADC₁₀₀₀ value (-0.499) was less negative than that of the mean ADC₂₀₀₀ value (-0.530) and mean ADC₃₀₀₀ value (-0.567). The mean ADC₃₀₀₀ value was an independent prognosis factor for gliomas (p = 0.008), while the mean ADC₁₀₀₀ and ADC₂₀₀₀ values were not.

CONCLUSION

ADC maps obtained from high b value DWI might be a better imaging biomarker in the preoperative evaluation of gliomas.

KEY POINTS

• ADC ₃₀₀₀ maps could improve the differentiation between HGG and LGG. • The mean ADC ₃₀₀₀ value had a closer correlation with the Ki-67 index. • The mean ADC ₃₀₀₀ value was an independent prognosis factor for gliomas.

[Quantitative analysis of enhanced MRI features for predicting epidermal growth factor receptor gene amplification in glioblastoma multiforme with radiomic method]

OBJECTIVE

To assess the value of contrast enhanced MRI features for predicting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene amplification in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) with radiomic method.

METHODS

Eighty patients with EGFR status examined GBM were retrospectively reviewed. The data were randomly divided into a training dataset (60%) and test dataset (40%). Texture features of each case were extracted from the enhanced region and the edema region in contrast enhanced MR images. Principal component analysis was used for dimension reduction. Random forest model, support vector machine model and neural network model were built. Area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics curve was used to assess the performance of models with test dataset.

RESULTS

A total of 542 features were extracted from the enhanced region and the edema region. Forty-eight principal components were obtained, which accounted for 100% accumulation contribution rate, and the first 31 principal components were selected for models building, which accounted for 98.5% accumulation contribution rate. The values of AUCs were 0.74, 0.69 and 0.63 for random forest model, support vector machine model and neural network model in the test dataset, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Radiomic method with proper model may have a potential role in predicting the EGFR gene status with enhanced MRI features derived from the enhanced region and the edema region in patients with glioblastoma multiforme.

Lumican Inhibits the pathogenicity of murine encephalitic TH17 cells

TH17 cells play an essential role in the development of both human multiple sclerosis and animal experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Nevertheless, it is not well understood how the pathogenicity of TH17 cells is controlled in the autoimmune neuro-inflammation. In vitro, we found Lumican (Lum), an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, is selectively expressed by TH17 cells among tested murine TH subsets. Lum-deficiency leads to earlier onset and enhanced severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. This enhanced disease in Lum-deficient mice is associated with increased production of IL-17 and IL-21 and decreased TH17 cell apoptosis. Dysregulation in cytokine production appears to be specific to TH17 cells as TH1 and TH2 cell polarization and/or cytokine production were unaltered. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of MOG-specific TH17 cells derived from Lum-deficient mice led to earlier onset and increased severity of disease compared to controls highlighting a TH17 cell-intrinsic effect of Lum. Taken together, our results suggest that Lum negatively regulates encephalitic TH17 cells, implicating a potential therapeutic pathway in TH17 cell-mediated autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

[Survival analysis of surgically treated renal cell carcinoma: an analysis of 10-year data from single center]

OBJECTIVE

To explore how clinical features of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) relate to cancer patients' prognosis and survival.

METHODS

A total of 1 497 renal cell carcinoma patients received surgical treatments in Department of Urology, Peking Union Medical College were admitted between January 2002 and December 2012. Telephone interviews and complimentary medical records review were carried out to acquire follow-up data, including post-surgery adjuvant therapy, disease progression and survival.

RESULTS

There were 1 326 of all 1 497 RCC cases successfully followed up, including 899 male and 427 female cases. The median age was 54(18) years (M(QR)). There were 1 049 T1 cases (79.11%), 139 T2 cases (10.48%), 125 T3 cases (9.43%), and 13 T4 cases (0.98%). As for types of surgery, there were 584 (44.04%) nephron-sparing surgery cases, and 742 (55.96%) radical nephrectomy cases. As for pathological subtypes, it included 1 153 (86.95%) clear cell renal cell carcinoma cases, and 173 (13.05%) non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma cases. Median length of follow-up was 43.6 months. During follow-up, 147 patients developed RCC related progression, with a median progression free survival of 18.2 months.Sixty-four patients died from RCC related progression, with a median cancer specific survival (CSS) of 27.7 months. RESULTS of data analysis showed that CSS rates of 1-, 5-, 10-year of T1 stage post-surgical RCC were 99.61%, 97.24%, 92.08%, respectively; CSS rates of 1-, 5-, 10-year of T2 stage were 98.51%, 92.01%, 85.08%, respectively; and CSS rates of 1-, 5-, 10-year of T3-4 stage were 92.40%, 77.99%, 42.56%, respectively. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that signs of lung metastasis, signs of bone metastasis, tumor N stage, pathological subtype, microscopic sarcomatoid changing, and types of progression were major risk factors for RCC cancer specific survival (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Surgery is the primary choice of treatment in RCC. The survival is not same with different T stage. T stage affects the progression of renal cell carcinoma. N stage, lung and bone symptoms, pathological type, sarcomatoid changes and postoperative metastasis of renal cell carcinoma will affect the mortality of patients.

Validation of OncoPanel: A Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing Assay for the Detection of Somatic Variants in Cancer

CONTEXT

- The analysis of somatic mutations across multiple genes in cancer specimens may be used to aid clinical decision making. The analytical validation of targeted next-generation sequencing panels is important to assess accuracy and limitations.

OBJECTIVE

- To report the development and validation of OncoPanel, a custom targeted next-generation sequencing assay for cancer.

DESIGN

- OncoPanel was designed for the detection of single-nucleotide variants, insertions and deletions, copy number alterations, and structural variants across 282 genes with evidence as drivers of cancer biology. We implemented a validation strategy using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, fresh or frozen samples compared with results obtained by clinically validated orthogonal technologies.

RESULTS

- OncoPanel achieved 98% sensitivity and 100% specificity for the detection of single-nucleotide variants, and 84% sensitivity and 100% specificity for the detection of insertions and deletions compared with single-gene assays and mass spectrometry-based genotyping. Copy number detection achieved 86% sensitivity and 98% specificity compared with array comparative genomic hybridization. The sensitivity of structural variant detection was 74% compared with karyotype, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and polymerase chain reaction. Sensitivity was affected by inconsistency in the detection of FLT3 and NPM1 alterations and IGH rearrangements due to design limitations. Limit of detection studies demonstrated 98.4% concordance across triplicate runs for variants with allele fraction greater than 0.1 and at least 50× coverage.

CONCLUSIONS

- The analytical validation of OncoPanel demonstrates the ability of targeted next-generation sequencing to detect multiple types of genetic alterations across a panel of genes implicated in cancer biology.

Structure similarity-guided image binarization for automatic segmentation of epidermis surface microstructure images

Partitioning epidermis surface microstructure (ESM) images into skin ridge and skin furrow regions is an important preprocessing step before quantitative analyses on ESM images. Binarization segmentation is a potential technique for partitioning ESM images because of its computational simplicity and ease of implementation. However, even for some state-of-the-art binarization methods, it remains a challenge to automatically segment ESM images, because the grey-level histograms of ESM images have no obvious external features to guide automatic assessment of appropriate thresholds. Inspired by human visual perceptual functions of structural feature extraction and comparison, we propose a structure similarity-guided image binarization method. The proposed method seeks for the binary image that best approximates the input ESM image in terms of structural features. The proposed method is validated by comparing it with two recently developed automatic binarization techniques as well as a manual binarization method on 20 synthetic noisy images and 30 ESM images. The experimental results show: (1) the proposed method possesses self-adaption ability to cope with different images with same grey-level histogram; (2) compared to two automatic binarization techniques, the proposed method significantly improves average accuracy in segmenting ESM images with an acceptable decrease in computational efficiency; (3) and the proposed method is applicable for segmenting practical EMS images. (Matlab code of the proposed method can be obtained by contacting with the corresponding author.).

Si-centered capped trigonal prism ordering in liquid Pd82Si18 alloy study by first-principles calculations

Distribution of trigonal prism capped with three half-octahedra (orange clusters), archimedean anti-prism (green ones) and icosahedron (blue ones) clusters in Pd₈₂Si₁₈ at different temperature (a) 900 K, (b) 1216 K. (c) Connection way of different clusters, and pink ones are the sharing atoms.

[Expression of lactate dehydrogenase-5 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma and its clinical significance]

OBJECTIVE

To determine expression of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)-5 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma and its clinical significance.
 Methods: LDH-5 levels and LDH levels in NHL patients were examined by agarose gel electrophoresis and enzymatic method (n=63), respectively. Positive rates of LDH-5 and LDH were statistically analyzed.
 Results: The median age of NHL patients was 56(19-84) years old, including 36 males and 27 females. The positive numbers for LDH-5 and LDH in the initial treatment group (n=43) were significantly different (P<0.05). There was significant difference in 22 cases of diffuse large B cell lymphoma and in 9 cases of T cell lymphoma, whereas there was not significant difference in 12 cases of small B cell lymphoma (P>0.05). In 15 cases under the status of progress, the difference of LDH-5 and LDH expressions were not significant (P>0.05), whereas the difference in cases of small B cell lymphoma was significant (P<0.05).
 Conclusion: LDH-5 can be used as an index for NHL to judge the tumor load and to predict the recurrence.

The influence of emission control on particle number size distribution and new particle formation during China's V-Day parade in 2015

Temporary strict emission control strategies were conducted to ensure good air quality for China's V-Day parade (August 20-September 3, 2015) in Beijing and nearby cities. The influence of the emission control on particle number size distribution (PNSD) was evaluated based on the long-term measurements of PNSD at a rural site (Shangdianzi) located northeast of Beijing. This study also presented the comparison results of PNSD during the parade in 2015 and the Olympics in 2008 (August 8-23), as well as the same period without strict emission control in 2010-2013 (August 20-September 3). Compared with the same period in 2010-2013 and 2008 Olympics, the accumulation mode particle number concentration showed a significant reduction in 2015, and the PM₁ mass concentration decreased by approximately 60-90%. The alleviation of the PM₁ was also associated with the weather conditions. The back trajectories analysis results showed that the southerly air mass passing through the polluted areas accounted for 14% of the total back trajectories in 2015, which contributed to approximately 60% in the other years. During the control period in 2015, there were six new particle formation (NPF) events observed, with a higher frequency, but a lower formation rate and growth rate than the same period in 2010-2013. The comparison of the condensation sink (CS), sulfuric acid, solar radiation and relative humidity among the different years indicated that at Shangdianzi station, the first factor in determining the NPF occurrence was the CS, and the second factor could be the concentration level of precursor vapors participating in the NPF event (e.g., sulfuric acid).

Precision Measurement of the Boron to Carbon Flux Ratio in Cosmic Rays from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the boron to carbon flux ratio (B/C) is important in understanding the propagation of cosmic rays. The precise measurement of the B/C ratio from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV, based on 2.3 million boron and 8.3 million carbon nuclei collected by AMS during the first 5 years of operation, is presented. The detailed variation with rigidity of the B/C spectral index is reported for the first time. The B/C ratio does not show any significant structures in contrast to many cosmic ray models that require such structures at high rigidities. Remarkably, above 65 GV, the B/C ratio is well described by a single power law R^{Δ} with index Δ=-0.333±0.014(fit)±0.005(syst), in good agreement with the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence which predicts Δ=-1/3 asymptotically.

Loss of Dnmt3b accelerates MLL-AF9 leukemia progression

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous hematopoietic disorder with a poor prognosis. Abnormal DNA methylation is involved in the initiation and progression of AML. The de novo methyltransferases Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are responsible for the generation of genomic methylation patterns. While DNMT3A is frequently mutated in hematological malignancies, DNMT3B is rarely mutated. Although it has been previously reported that Dnmt3b functions as a tumor suppressor in a mouse model of Myc-induced lymphomagenesis, its function in AML is yet to be determined. In this study, we demonstrated that deletion of Dnmt3b accelerated the progression of MLL-AF9 leukemia by increasing stemness and enhancing cell cycle progression. Gene profiling analysis revealed upregulation of the oncogenic gene set and downregulation of the cell differentiation gene set. Furthermore, loss of Dnmt3b was able to synergize with Dnmt3a deficiency in leukemia development. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Dnmt3b plays a tumor suppressive role in MLL-AF9 AML progression, thereby providing new insights into the roles of DNA methylation in leukemia development.

Detection of Mismatch Repair Deficiency and Microsatellite Instability in Colorectal Adenocarcinoma by Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing

Mismatch repair protein deficiency (MMR-D) and high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) are features of Lynch syndrome-associated colorectal carcinomas and have implications in clinical management. We evaluate the ability of a targeted next-generation sequencing panel to detect MMR-D and MSI-H based on mutational phenotype. Using a criterion of >40 total mutations per megabase or >5 single-base insertion or deletion mutations in repeats per megabase, sequencing achieves 92% sensitivity and 100% specificity for MMR-D by immunohistochemistry in a training cohort of 149 colorectal carcinomas and 91% sensitivity and 98% specificity for MMR-D in a validation cohort of 94 additional colorectal carcinomas. False-negative samples are attributable to tumor heterogeneity, and next-generation sequencing results are concordant with analysis of microsatellite loci by PCR. In a subset of 95 carcinomas with microsatellite analysis, sequencing achieves 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity for MSI-H in the combined training and validation set. False-positive results for MMR-D and MSI-H are attributable to ultramutated cancers with POLE mutations, which are confirmed by direct sequencing of the POLE gene and are detected by mutational signature analysis. These findings provide a framework for a targeted tumor sequencing panel to accurately detect MMR-D and MSI-H in colorectal carcinomas.

Parent-child associations for changes in diet, screen time, and physical activity across two decades in modernizing China: China Health and Nutrition Survey 1991-2009

Background

While the household context is important for lifestyle behavior interventions, few studies have examined parent–child associations for diet and physical activity (PA) changes over time in a rapidly urbanizing country. We aimed to investigate changes in diet, screen time, and PA behaviors over time in children and their parents living in the same household, and examine the parent–child association for these behaviors.

Methods

We studied dietary, screen time, and PA behaviors in 5,201 parent–child pairs (children aged 7-17y) using longitudinal data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2009). We collected three-day 24-h recall diet data to generate percentages of energy from animal-source foods, away-from-home eating, and snacking from 1991–2009, which are known urbanization-related behaviors. We used a seven-day PA recall to collect screen time (hours/week) and leisure-time sports participation (yes/no) since 2004. We examined the changes in children’s and parents’ behaviors over time using random-effects negative binomial regression for diet and screen time, and random-effects logistic regression for leisure-time sports. We then regressed each of the behaviors of offspring on each of their parents’ same behaviors to examine the parent–child association, using the same set of models.

Results

We observed increases in energy from animal-source foods, eating away-from-home, and snacking, as well as screen time and leisure-time sports in parents and children over time, with different rates of change between children and their parents for some behaviors. We found positive parent–child associations for diet, screen time, and PA. When parental intakes increased by 10 % energy from each dietary behavior, children’s increase in intakes ranged from 0.44 to 1.59 % total energy for animal-source foods, 0.17 % to 0.45 % for away-from-home eating, and 2.13 % to 7.21 % for snacking. Children were also more likely to participate in leisure-time sports if their parents participated in leisure-time sports.

Conclusion

Our findings support household-based health behavior interventions targeting both children and their parents. However, generation-specific intervention strategies may be needed for children and adults, especially for dietary behaviors, which changed differentially in children versus parents in this rapidly modernizing population.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12966-016-0445-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Lumican negatively controls the pathogenicity of murine encephalitic TH17 cells

TH17 cells play an essential role in the development of both human multiple sclerosis and animal experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Nevertheless, it is not well understood how the pathogenicity of TH17 cells is controlled in the autoimmune neuroinflammation. In vitro, we found Lumican (Lum), an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, is selectively expressed by TH17 cells among tested murine TH subsets. Lum deficiency leads to earlier onset and enhanced severity of EAE. This enhanced disease in Lum-deficient mice is associated with increased production of IL-17 and IL-21 and decreased TH17 cell apoptosis. Dysregulation in cytokine production appears to be specific to TH17 cells as TH1 and TH2 cell polarization and/or cytokine production were unaltered. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein specific TH17 cells derived from Lum-deficient mice led to earlier onset and increased severity of disease compared to controls highlighting a TH17-cell-intrinsic effect of Lum. Taken together, our results suggest that Lum negatively regulates encephalitic TH17 cells, implicating a potential therapeutic pathway in TH17 cell mediated autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

[QuEChERS pretreatment method for determination of organophosphate pesticide and raticide in whole blood]

Objective: To investigate the QuEChERS pretreatment method combined with on-line gel permeation chromatography-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GPC-GC/MS) for the determination of organophosphate pesticide and raticide in whole blood. Methods: The samples were pretreated with QuEChERS. A total of 1 ml acetonitrile was added to 1 ml whole blood sample for extraction, and 0.5 g sodium chloride was added. The mixture was oscillated for 15 seconds at a temperature of 4° C and centrifuged at a high speed of 12 000 r/min for 10 minutes. The supernatant was transferred to a centrifuge tube, the dispersive absorbent was used to remove the interfering matrix, and then GPC-GC/MS was used for analysis. Results: Organophosphate pesticide and raticide had a good linear relationship within the range of 0.1~0.5 mg/L, and the correlation coefficient was 0.997 7~1.000 0. The limit of quantitation of this method was 0.005~0.050 mg/L, and the recovery rate was 43.11%~106.68%, and the relative standard deviation of most drugs was <10%. Conclusion: The pretreatment method is simple, time-saving, and highly automated and has the features of low detection limit, high accuracy, and good accuracy. It can meet the requirements of rapid and accurate screening of organophosphate pesticides and raticide.

[A preliminary study for the effect of nano hydroxyapatite on human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells mixture 3D bio-printing]

OBJECTIVE

To study the effect of nano hydroxyapatite on human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells(hASCs) mixture 3D bio-printing for cells' proliferation and osteogenesis.

METHODS

P5 hASCs were used as seed cells, 10 g/L nano hydroxyapatite was added into the cell-sodium alginate-gelatin mixture (concentration: 20 g/L sodium alginate, 80 g/L gelatin; cell density: 1×106/mL), then the mixture was printed by 3D bio-printer as the experimental group. And the cell-sodium alginate-gelatin mixture without nano hydroxyapatite was printed as the control group. Respectively, both the experimental and control groups were detected by microscope, CCK-8, Western blot and PCR at certain time pointsafter being printed, whose cells' proliferation and osteogenic differentiation were analyzed.

RESULTS

The microscopic observation and CCK-8 results showed that the cells of the experimental group and the control group both had a good proliferation 24 h and 7 d after being printed. The Western blot results showed that 14 d after printing, the expression of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) had no statistical difference between the experimental group and control group. The PCR results showed that 14 d after printing, the expression of osteogenesis-related genes (RUNX2, osterix, and osteocalcin) was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group.

CONCLUSION

Nano hydroxyapatite can increase osteogenic differentiation of the hASCs mixture after bio-printing, in which the cells still have a good proliferation.

DREADD in parvalbumin interneurons of the dentate gyrus modulates anxiety, social interaction and memory extinction

Parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons in the hippocampus play a critical role in animal memory, such as spatial working memory. However, how PV-positive interneurons in the subregions of the hippocampus affect animal behaviors remains poorly defined. Here, we achieved specific and reversible activation of PV-positive interneurons using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) technology. Inducible DREADD expression was demonstrated in vitro in cultured neurons, in which co-transfection of the hM3D-Gq-mCherry vector with a Cre plasmid resulted in a cellular response to hM3Dq ligand clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) stimulation. In addition, the dentate gyrus (DG) of PV-Cre mice received bilateral injection of control lentivirus or lentivirus expressing double floxed hM3D-Gq-mCherry. Selective activation of PV-positive interneurons in the DG did not affect locomotor activity or depression-related behavior in mice. Interestingly, stimulation of PV-positive interneurons induced an anxiolytic effect. Activation of PVpositive interneurons appears to impair social interaction to novelty, but has no effect on social motivation. However, this defect is likely due to the anxiolytic effect as the exploratory behavior of mice expressing hM3DGq is significantly increased. Mice expressing hM3D-Gq did not affect novel object recognition. Activation of PV-positive interneurons in the DG maintains intact cued and contextual fear memory but facilitates fear extinction. Collectively, our results demonstrated that proper control of PV interneurons activity in the DG is critical for regulation of the anxiety, social interaction and fear extinction. These results improve our fundamental understanding of the physiological role of PV-positive interneurons in the hippocampus.

Effect of preceding crop on Fusarium species and mycotoxin contamination of wheat grains

BACKGROUND

The Fusarium graminearum species complex infects several cereals and causes the reduction of grain yield and quality. Many factors influence the extent of Fusarium infection and mycotoxin levels. Such factors include crop rotation. In the present study, we explored the effect of rice or maize as former crops on mycotoxin accumulation in wheat grains.

RESULTS

More than 97% of samples were contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON). DON concentrations in wheat grains from rice and maize rotation fields were 884.37 and 235.78 µg kg(-1) . Zearalenone (ZEN) was detected in 45% of samples which were mainly collected from maize-wheat rotation systems. Fusarium strains were isolated and more F. graminearum sensu stricto (s. str.) isolates were cultured from wheat samples obtained from maize rotation fields. DON levels produced by Fusarium isolates from rice rotation fields were higher than those of samples from maize rotation fields.

CONCLUSIONS

Rice-wheat rotation favours DON accumulation, while more ZEN contamination may occur in maize-wheat rotation models. Appropriate crop rotation may help to reduce toxin levels in wheat grains. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Carotid blowout syndrome after nasopharyngeal carcinoma radiotherapy: successful treatment by internal carotid artery occlusion after stent implantation failure

Introduction

Carotid blowout syndrome (CBS) secondary to radiation therapy is life-threatening and requires emergency treatment. More recently, endovascular treatment has provided an effective way to control CBS-related bleeding.

Case description

We present a case of CBS with a rupture of the internal carotid artery (ICA) pseudo-aneurysm after Gamma Knife radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The patient was a 55-year-old man who was transferred to our hospital with severe repetitive epistaxis. He had a history of NPC and had been treated with Gamma Knife radiation therapy 7 months prior, with a central dose of 32 Gy and marginal dose of 16 Gy. As CBS was confirmed by angiography, and the affected part of the ICA lumen exhibited moderate stenosis, the patient was successfully treated by ICA occlusion after stent implantation failure. The patient died 40 months after this operation from tumor recurrence, but without epistaxis during follow up.

Discussion and Evaluation

Quick selection of an appropriate treatment method is very important for an acute CBS patient.

Conclusion

ICA occlusion can be directly considered for an acute CBS patient, if the affected ICA exhibits stenosis that is moderate or above.

Effects of Oxygen Impurities on Glass-Formation Ability in Zr2Cu Alloy

Using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we show that oxygen (O) impurities have a noticeable influence on the glass-formation ability (GFA) in Zr2Cu alloy. Cu-centered icosahedral clusters and Zr-centered Kasper polyhedra are the dominate short-range orders in undercooled Zr2Cu liquid which are most likely to be responsible for the glass formation in Zr2Cu systems. When O is introduced, a Zr octahedron is formed around the O impurity. Most of the Zr atoms in the octahedron also serve as the bridging atoms for cross-linked Kasper polyhedral network, resulting in an O-centered medium range order (MRO) structure. Meanwhile, Cu atoms are moved away from the first shell of O-centered octahedral clusters. With 1 at. % O impurities, the fractions of Zr-centered clusters are less affected, while the increase of ideal icosahedral order and decrease of distorted icosahedral order lead to a more stable atomic structure. This result suggests that a low concentration of O impurities would improve the GFA in Zr2Cu alloy. However, when ∼5 at. % O impurities are included, the ideal icosahedral clusters and Zr-centered Kasper polyhedra are seriously suppressed by the formation of O-centered MRO, which can lead to deterioration of GFA. Our analyses provide useful insight into glass formation behavior in O-doped metallic alloy systems.