Autoimmune liver disease-related autoantibodies in patients with biliary atresia

AIM

To investigate the prevalence and clinical significance of autoimmune liver disease (ALD)-related autoantibodies in patients with biliary atresia (BA).

METHODS

Sera of 124 BA patients and 140 age-matched non-BA controls were assayed for detection of the following autoantibodies: ALD profile and specific anti-nuclear antibodies (ANAs), by line-blot assay; ANA and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), by indirect immunofluorescence assay; specific ANCAs and anti-M2-3E, by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Associations of these autoantibodies with the clinical features of BA (i.e., cytomegalovirus infection, degree of liver fibrosis, and short-term prognosis of Kasai procedure) were evaluated by Spearman’s correlation coefficient.

RESULTS

The overall positive rate of serum autoantibodies in preoperative BA patients was 56.5%. ALD profile assay showed that the positive reaction to primary biliary cholangitis-related autoantibodies in BA patients was higher than that to autoimmune hepatitis-related autoantibodies. Among these autoantibodies, anti-BPO was detected more frequently in the BA patients than in the controls (14.8% vs 2.2%, P < 0.05). Accordingly, 32 (25.8%) of the 124 BA patients also showed a high positive reaction for anti-M2-3E. By comparison, the controls had a remarkably lower frequency of anti-M2-3E (P < 0.05), with 6/92 (8.6%) of patients with other liver diseases and 2/48 (4.2%) of healthy controls. The prevalence of ANA in BA patients was 11.3%, which was higher than that in disease controls (3.3%, P < 0.05), but the reactivity to specific ANAs was only 8.2%. The prevalence of ANCAs (ANCA or specific ANCAs) in BA patients was also remarkably higher than that in the healthy controls (37.9% vs 6.3%, P < 0.05), but showed no difference from that in patients with other cholestasis. ANCA positivity was closely associated with the occurrence of postoperative cholangitis (r = 0.61, P < 0.05), whereas none of the autoantibodies showed a correlation to cytomegalovirus infection or the stages of liver fibrosis.

CONCLUSION

High prevalence of autoantibodies in the BA developmental process strongly reveals the autoimmune-mediated pathogenesis. Serological ANCA positivity may be a useful predictive biomarker of postoperative cholangitis.

Observation of New Properties of Secondary Cosmic Rays Lithium, Beryllium, and Boron by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

We report on the observation of new properties of secondary cosmic rays Li, Be, and B measured in the rigidity (momentum per unit charge) range 1.9 GV to 3.3 TV with a total of 5.4×10^{6} nuclei collected by AMS during the first five years of operation aboard the International Space Station. The Li and B fluxes have an identical rigidity dependence above 7 GV and all three fluxes have an identical rigidity dependence above 30 GV with the Li/Be flux ratio of 2.0±0.1. The three fluxes deviate from a single power law above 200 GV in an identical way. This behavior of secondary cosmic rays has also been observed in the AMS measurement of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O but the rigidity dependences of primary cosmic rays and of secondary cosmic rays are distinctly different. In particular, above 200 GV, the secondary cosmic rays harden more than the primary cosmic rays.

Observation of the Identical Rigidity Dependence of He, C, and O Cosmic Rays at High Rigidities by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

We report the observation of new properties of primary cosmic rays He, C, and O measured in the rigidity (momentum/charge) range 2 GV to 3 TV with 90×10^{6} helium, 8.4×10^{6} carbon, and 7.0×10^{6} oxygen nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during the first five years of operation. Above 60 GV, these three spectra have identical rigidity dependence. They all deviate from a single power law above 200 GV and harden in an identical way.

Characterization of Trichococcus paludicola sp. nov. and Trichococcus alkaliphilus sp. nov., isolated from a high-elevation wetland, by phenotypic and genomic analyses

Two psychrotolerant facultative anaerobes, strains B7-2^T and B5^T, were isolated from the Zoige Wetland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains B7-2^T and B5^T shared high similarity (>99 %) with those of the type strains of the genus Trichococcus, while their digital DNA-DNA hybridization values with each other (49 %) and with the reference type strains (48-23 %) were lower than 70 %, which suggest that they represent two novel species of the genus Trichococcus. Cells of strains B7-2^T and B5^T were immotile cocci, grew in the temperature range of 4-37 °C (optimum 25 °C) and were alkaliphilic with optimum growth at pH 9.0. The major components of the cellular fatty acids were C16 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0 and C18 : 0 for strain B7-2^T, and C16 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0, C18 : 1ω9c and C18 : 0 for strain B5^T. The genomic DNA G+C contents were 46.0 and 46.7 mol% for strains B7-2^T and B5^T, respectively. Based on physiological and genomic characteristics, it is suggested that strains B7-2^T and B5^T represent two novel species within the genus Trichococcus, for which the names Trichococcus paludicola sp. nov. and Trichococcus alkaliphilus sp. nov. are proposed. The type strains are B7-2^T (=DSM 104691^T=KCTC 33886^T) and B5^T (=DSM 104692^T=KCTC 33885^T), respectively.

Temperature-tunable Fano resonance induced by strong coupling between Weyl fermions and phonons in TaAs

Strong coupling between discrete phonon and continuous electron–hole pair excitations can induce a pronounced asymmetry in the phonon line shape, known as the Fano resonance. This effect has been observed in various systems. Here we reveal explicit evidence for strong coupling between an infrared-active phonon and electronic transitions near the Weyl points through the observation of a Fano resonance in the Weyl semimetal TaAs. The resulting asymmetry in the phonon line shape, conspicuous at low temperatures, diminishes continuously with increasing temperature. This behaviour originates from the suppression of electronic transitions near the Weyl points due to the decreasing occupation of electronic states below the Fermi level (E_F) with increasing temperature, as well as Pauli blocking caused by thermally excited electrons above E_F. Our findings not only elucidate the mechanism governing the tunable Fano resonance but also open a route for exploring exotic physical phenomena through phonon properties in Weyl semimetals.

The study of lattice vibrations coupled to electronic excitations may provide an avenue for exploring exotic physical phenomena. Here, Xu et al. observe a Fano resonance in the Weyl semimetal TaAs, revealing evidence for a strong coupling between phonons and Weyl fermions.

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.

[Effect of snow sports on knee cartilage maturation in children and adolescent with MRI quantitative analysis Zhang]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of snow sports to the knee cartilage maturation of children and adolescent with quantitative analysis of 3.0 T MRI. Methods: Twenty children and adolescent who underwent snow sports training more than 6 months (11 males and 9 females) were recruited and named with sports group, and twenty children and adolescent who live regularly without any exercise (10 males and 10 females) were recruited as control group from June 2014 to June 2015.Each group was divided into subgroups according to their gender.Both groups were scanned by 3.0 T MR.According to the loading features of knee articular cartilage in snow sports, medial femoral condyle, lateral femoral condyle, medial tibial condyle and lateral tibial condyle were divided into subareas.T₂ values and cartilage thickness were measured in all areas. Results: The median ages of the sports group and control group were 14.2 and 13.6 years old, which showed no statistical difference between two groups.The BMI of the sports group and control group were 18.3 and 17.9 kg/m^2, which showed no statistical difference between two groups.Both in sports group and control group, the thickness and T₂ values of all areas showed significant differences between man and women in each group (all P<0.05). The cartilage thickness of sports group was higher than control group (P<0.05). The T₂ values showed no statistical difference in anterior central, posterior central of femoral condyles and anterior, central areas of tibial condyles between sports group and control group(P≥0.05). The T₂ values of anterior part of posterior femur and posterior areas of tibial condyle in sports group was higher than control group (P≥0.05). Conclusion: Gender difference may be an important effect factor of cartilage thickness. Scientific snow sports training maybe has positive influence for cartilage maturation of children and adolescent.

Antiproton Flux, Antiproton-to-Proton Flux Ratio, and Properties of Elementary Particle Fluxes in Primary Cosmic Rays Measured with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

A precision measurement by AMS of the antiproton flux and the antiproton-to-proton flux ratio in primary cosmic rays in the absolute rigidity range from 1 to 450 GV is presented based on 3.49×10^{5} antiproton events and 2.42×10^{9} proton events. The fluxes and flux ratios of charged elementary particles in cosmic rays are also presented. In the absolute rigidity range ∼60 to ∼500  GV, the antiproton p[over ¯], proton p, and positron e^{+} fluxes are found to have nearly identical rigidity dependence and the electron e^{-} flux exhibits a different rigidity dependence. Below 60 GV, the (p[over ¯]/p), (p[over ¯]/e^{+}), and (p/e^{+}) flux ratios each reaches a maximum. From ∼60 to ∼500  GV, the (p[over ¯]/p), (p[over ¯]/e^{+}), and (p/e^{+}) flux ratios show no rigidity dependence. These are new observations of the properties of elementary particles in the cosmos.

Diagnostic performance of anti-citrullinated protein/peptide antibodies in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

The prevalence rates of anti-citrullinated protein/peptide antibodies (ACPAs) were investigated in a cohort of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients, and their diagnostic performances were compared. ACPAs, including anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide IgG (anti-CCP), anti-CCP IgG/IgA (anti-CCP3.1), citrullinated recombinant rat filaggrin antibodies (CPA), anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV), and antibodies to citrullinated human IgG-derived peptides (RA/CP), were measured in the sera from 81 JIA patients. Serum samples from 55 children with other joint diseases or viral infections and 49 healthy donors were tested as controls. Of the 81 JIA patients, 7 (8.6%), 8 (9.9%), 17 (21.0%), 23 (28.4%), and 18 (22.2%) were found to be positive for anti-CCP, anti-CCP3.1, CPA, anti-MCV, and RA/CP, respectively, with specificities of 98.1, 95.1, 93.3, 84.6, and 86.5%. Analysis by subtype revealed that 7/7 (100%) of RF-positive polyarticular JIA patients tested positive at high serum levels for anti-MCV or RA/CP, and 5/7 (71.4%) were positive for anti-CCP, anti- CCP3.1, or CPA (P < 0.001, compared with controls). Eighteen of 81 JIA patients demonstrated joint erosions on radiographs and erosive arthritis occurred more often in ACPAs positive patients (P < 0.01). Our findings indicate that although ACPAs are not satisfactory screening biomarkers for JIA due to low sensitivity, ACPA measurement can aid in diagnosing RF-positive polyarticular JIA and identifying JIA patients with severe bone involvement. The diagnostic performance of each ACPA in JIA is different, and the careful selection of assays is necessary.

Precision Measurement of the Helium Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays of Rigidities 1.9 GV to 3 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

Knowledge of the precise rigidity dependence of the helium flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. A precise measurement of the helium flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1.9 GV to 3 TV based on 50 million events is presented and compared to the proton flux. The detailed variation with rigidity of the helium flux spectral index is presented for the first time. The spectral index progressively hardens at rigidities larger than 100 GV. The rigidity dependence of the helium flux spectral index is similar to that of the proton spectral index though the magnitudes are different. Remarkably, the spectral index of the proton to helium flux ratio increases with rigidity up to 45 GV and then becomes constant; the flux ratio above 45 GV is well described by a single power law.

Precision Measurement of the Proton Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays from Rigidity 1 GV to 1.8 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

A precise measurement of the proton flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1 GV to 1.8 TV is presented based on 300 million events. Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the proton flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. We present the detailed variation with rigidity of the flux spectral index for the first time. The spectral index progressively hardens at high rigidities.

Hidden T-linear scattering rate in Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 revealed by optical spectroscopy

The optical properties of Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 have been determined in the normal state for a number of temperatures over a wide frequency range. Two Drude terms, representing two groups of carriers with different scattering rates (1/τ), well describe the real part of the optical conductivity σ1(ω). A "broad" Drude component results in an incoherent background with a T-independent 1/τb, while a "narrow" Drude component reveals a T-linear 1/τn resulting in a resistivity ρn≡1/σ1n(ω→0) also linear in temperature. An arctan(T) low-frequency spectral weight is also strong evidence for a T-linear 1/τ. A comparison to other materials with similar behavior suggests that the T-linear 1/τn and ρn in Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 originate from scattering from spin fluctuations and hence that an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point is likely to exist in the superconducting dome.

[A TDDFT study on the photophysical mechanism of optical quenching of a new type fluorescent probe molecule]

3-hydroxyl flavone (3-HF), a typical representative of the second generation new fluorescence molecular probe, was studied by high-accuracy quantum chemical methods, density functional theory (DFT), in the present paper. The photo-physics mechanism of 3-HF as fluorescence molecular probe was studied by the calculation of the optimum geometry structure, charge population and excitation spectrum, in the ideal condition. Then the calculation results were analyzed, and the photo-physics looping graph was plotted for the elucidation of the mechanism. Compared with the experiments, the geometry structure obtained by our calculation is in good agreement, and the errors in the calculated excitation spectrum are in a reasonable limitation. As in this paper, it is only a tentative research work in the field of molecule fluorescence probe with the method of quantum chemistry calculation, and we hope that it could provide systematically valuable theoretical reference in this field in the future.

trans-Bis(2-acetamido-5-methylbenzoato-κO1)tetraaquazinc

In the title compound, [Zn(C₁₀H₁₀NO₃)₂(H₂O)₄], the Zn^II atom lies on a crystallographic inversion center and is six-coordinated by two monodentate trans-related 2-(N-acetyl­amino)-5-methyl­benzoato ligands and four water mol­ecules, giving a slightly distorted octa­hedral geometry. There are two intra­molecular hydrogen bonds [amine N—H⋯O_carbox­yl and water O—H⋯O_carbox­yl], while extensive inter­molecular water O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions extend the complex units into a two-dimensional network structure along (100).

A unique magnetic resonance imaging feature of glioblastoma multiforme: the 'pseudopalisade' sign

This study was designed to investigate the unique magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearance of histopathologically-proven glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) with pseudopalisade necrosis and to assess its value for grading gliomas and providing a differential diagnosis. The study included 169 patients with intracranial masses who underwent surgery and had a proven histopathological diagnosis: 50 with GBM, 77 with gliomas (46 grade II and 31 grade III) and 42 with other intracranial masses (20 metastases, 14 lymphomas and eight abscesses). All patients underwent preoperative brain MRI including post-contrast T(1)-weighted imaging. The presence of the 'pseudopalisade' sign on post-contrast T(1)-weighted images was compared among the different types of brain mass. The frequency of the 'pseudopalisade' sign in GBMs (94.00%) was significantly higher than that seen in grade II and III gliomas (11.69%) and other intracranial masses (7.14%). The 'pseudopalisade' sign on post-contrast T(1)-weighted images was useful for grading gliomas and for differentiating GBM from other brain masses.

Poly[[sesqui[mu2-1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene-kappa(2)N:N'](carbonato-kappa(2)O,O')copper(II)] 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene hemisolvate pentahydrate]

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, {[Cu(CO(3))(C(14)H(14)N(4))(1.5)] x 0.5 C(14)H(14)N(4) x 5 H(2)O}(n), contains one Cu(II) cation in a slightly distorted square-pyramidal coordination environment, one CO(3)(2-) anion, one full and two half 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene (bix) ligands, one half-molecule of which is uncoordinated, and five uncoordinated water molecules. One of the coordinated bix ligands and the uncoordinated bix molecule are situated about centers of symmetry, located at the centers of the benzene rings. The coordinated bix ligands link the copper(II) ions into a [Cu(bix)(1.5)](n) molecular ladder. These molecular ladders do not form interpenetrated ladders but are arranged in an ABAB parallel terrace, i.e. with the ladders arranged one above another, with sequence A translated with respect to B by 8 A. To best of our knowledge, this arrangement has not been observed in any of the molecular ladder frameworks synthesized to date. The coordination environment of the Cu(II) atom is completed by two O atoms of the CO(3)(2-) anion. The framework is further strengthened by extensive O-H...O and O-H...N hydrogen bonds involving the water molecules, the O atoms of the CO(3)(2-) anion and the N atoms of the bix ligands. This study describes the first example of a molecular ladder coordination polymer based on bix and therefore demonstrates further the usefulness of bix as a versatile multidentate ligand for constructing coordination polymers with interesting architectures.

Poly[μ(2)-benzene-1,3-dicarboxyl-ato-κO:O'-μ(2)-1,3-di-4-pyridylpropane-κN:N'-zinc(II)]

The title compound, [Zn(C₈H₄O₄)(C₁₃H₁₄N₂)]_n, was obtained by the hydro­thermal reaction of Zn(OAc)₂·H₂O with 1,3-di-4-pyridylpropane (bpp) and isophthalic acid (H₂ip). The Zn^II ion is coordinated by two bpp and two ip ligands in a distorted tetra­hedral environment. Each ligand coordinates in a bridging mode to connect Zn^II ions into a three-dimensional diamondoid-type structure.

Two Cobalt(II) 5-Aminoisophthalate Complexes and Their Stable Supramolecular Microporous Frameworks

Two stable supramolecular microporous cobalt(II) polymers, namely [Co(HAIP)2]n.3nH2O (1) and [Co(AIP)(H2O)]n (2), AIP = 5-aminoisophthalate, were hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, IR spectra, thermogravimetric analyses, and variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements. The two complexes are constructed from the same Co2(CO2)2 SBU, which is extended into a 1D chain in 1 and a 2D layer in 2. As a result, 1 and 2 are 2D and 3D coordination polymers, respectively. The 3D supramolecular network of complex 1 is held up by strong hydrogen bonds formed between carboxylate groups and shows very high stability when the free H2O molecules are removed, indicating an extraordinarily stable H-bonding system. Upon water ligands being liberated, complex 2 becomes a stable microporous solid with coordination-unsaturated Co centers. The behavior of the susceptibility curve of 1 suggests the occurrence of an interesting intrachain antiferromagnetic coupling between the Co(II) ions and the presence of a significant orbital contribution, whereas the features of 2 indicate an antiferromagnetic coupling with T(N) = 3.5 K and a long-range antiferromagnetic order with a field-induced magnetic transition.

Observation of a near-threshold enhancement in the pp mass spectrum from radiative J/psi-->gammapp decays

We observe a narrow enhancement near 2m(p) in the invariant mass spectrum of pp pairs from radiative J/psi-->gammapp decays. No similar structure is seen in J/psi-->pi(0)pp decays. The results are based on an analysis of a 58 x 10(6) event sample of J/psi decays accumulated with the BESII detector at the Beijing electron-positron collider. The enhancement can be fit with either an S- or P-wave Breit-Wigner resonance function. In the case of the S-wave fit, the peak mass is below 2m(p) at M=1859(+3)(-10) (stat)+5-25(syst) MeV/c(2) and the total width is Gamma<30 MeV/c(2) at the 90% confidence level. These mass and width values are not consistent with the properties of any known particle.