Hepatitis B virus and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: An updated meta-analysis of 58 studies

Previous studies have focused on the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). However, the results remain inconsistent and somehow conflicting in different subgroups. The aim of this study was to combine the findings of independent studies to comprehensively assess the association between HBV and NHL using a meta-analysis. Relevant studies were identified through structured keyword searches in PubMed, EMBASE and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, and 58 studies with a total of 53 714 NHL cases and 1 778 591 controls were finally included. Pooled estimates indicated a significantly increased NHL risk in HBV-infected individuals (summary odds ratio [sOR]: 2.50; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.20-2.83) regardless of the study design (case-control studies: sOR: 2.47; 95% CI: 2.16-2.82; cohort studies: sOR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.78-3.91). Considerable heterogeneity was observed across studies that was primarily attributed to the NHL subtypes (meta-regression: P < .05). Overall, B-cell NHL (sOR: 2.46; 95% CI: 1.97-3.07) presented a stronger association with HBV infection than T-cell NHL (sOR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.34-2.10). Within the B-cell NHL subtypes, HBV infection was significantly associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL, sOR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.48-2.88) and follicular lymphoma (FL, sOR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.11-2.12), but not with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) and Burkitt lymphoma. The results of this meta-analysis support a positive link between HBV infection and NHL development. Further investigations for the mechanisms underlying HBV-induced NHL are warranted.

A diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis is associated with increased life insurance premiums

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic disease that can be diagnosed at any age, but is not associated with malignancy and does not shorten lifespan. It remains unknown whether an EoE diagnosis affects insurability or insurance premium costs. We therefore aimed to determine whether a diagnosis of EoE affects the costs of life insurance. Our investigation was a secret shopper audit study whereby we contacted national insurance companies in the United States to evaluate the effect of a diagnosis of EoE on life insurance premiums. We constructed standardized case scenarios for males and females, including a 25-year-old and a 48-year-old without other comorbid conditions, who either had or did not have a diagnosis of EoE. Companies were asked for their best estimate for a $100,000 whole life insurance policy. Comparisons between median premiums were made using the Mann-Whitney U test. There were 20 national life insurance companies contacted and a total of 73 quotes were obtained. The median premium rate was similar for EoE and non-EoE cases at the younger age ($828 [IQR $576-1,020] vs. $756 [IQR $504-$804]; P = 0.10). However, the premium for the older case without EoE was 19% less expensive compared to a case with EoE ($1990 [IQR $1,248-2,350] vs. $2,375 [IQR $2,100-2568; P = 0.02]. This finding was not explained by sex or state of residence. Based on these findings, we conclude that life insurance premiums are significantly more expensive in the older patient case with EoE when compared to the same case without EoE. Patients with EoE and their providers should be aware of the additional cost associated with this diagnosis.

Food elimination diets are effective for long-term treatment of adults with eosinophilic oesophagitis

BACKGROUND

Limited data describe the long-term efficacy of dietary elimination in eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE).

AIM

To assess the long-term outcomes of food elimination diets for treatment of adults with EoE.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study at our centre analysing all EoE patients receiving a food elimination diet without concomitant steroids. Baseline data were abstracted using standardised collection forms. Follow-up data from a mean 24.9-month period were collected for patients with a histological response to a food elimination diet during and after food reintroduction. The main outcomes were symptomatic, endoscopic and histological responses.

RESULTS

Of 52 patients, 18 received a 6-food food elimination diet, 32 received targeted diet, and two received a 6-food food elimination diet with targeted elimination. There were 21 (40%) patients with an initial histological response. Responders reported less dysphagia after treatment (95% baseline vs 11%; P = .001) and at the end of follow-up (95% baseline vs 33%; P = .008). Significant and durable endoscopic improvements were recorded at the same time points: Endoscopic reference score: 3.2 vs 0.7; P = .001; and 3.2 vs 1.7; P = .06. Histological findings improved after the most restrictive diet in responders (49.8 vs 4.1 eosinophils per high-power field; P = .001) and remained suppressed in the 10 initial responders maintaining compliance at the end of follow-up (5.2 eosinophils per high-power field).

CONCLUSIONS

Among EoE patients responding to a food elimination diet and remaining adherent, maintenance dietary therapy produced durable long-term symptomatic, endoscopic and histological disease control. These long-term data confirm that a food elimination diet is an effective maintenance treatment option in select adults with EoE.

Isolation, identification and pathogenicity of Vibrio harveyi, the causal agent of skin ulcer disease in juvenile hybrid groupers Epinephelus fuscoguttatus × Epinephelus lanceolatus

The hybrid grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (♀) × Epinephelus lanceolatus (♂), is a newly bred cultivated marine fish species of high economic value. However, a skin ulcer disease with high mortality has occurred, and the responsible pathogen remains unknown. In this study, we summarized the epidemic status and external signs of this disease. We screened potential pathogens and finally isolated one bacterial strain ML01 from affected fish. We subjected healthy juvenile hybrid groupers to bacterial challenge tests with the isolate by immersion, immersion after dermal abrasion and intraperitoneal injection, respectively. Within 14 days post-infection, the isolate ML01 caused mass mortality of juveniles infected via immersion after dermal abrasion or intraperitoneal injection. Diseased juveniles displayed obvious signs of skin ulcers. The median lethal dose of ML01 by intraperitoneal injection was 1.10 × 10⁵ colony-forming units. ML01 was identified as Vibrio harveyi by bacterial morphology, analytical profile index identification, 16S rDNA sequencing and multilocus sequence analysis. Antibiotic susceptibility tests showed that ML01 was sensitive to ceftriaxone, doxycycline and minocycline. The results of this study suggest that V. harveyi is the causal agent of skin ulcer disease in juvenile hybrid groupers, thus providing a basis for effective control and prevention of this disease.

Age and gender differences in self-control and its intergenerational transmission

BACKGROUND

Few studies have been conducted in people of Asian descent that have reported to demonstrate the distinct developmental trends in good self-control and poor control. To fill this gap, we conducted a national cross-sectional survey among adolescents and young adults in China to further clarify the age and gender differences in self-control from a dual-systems perspective.

METHODS

A total of 2910 adolescents (female, n = 1698) and their parents from five different provinces in China were surveyed using the Dual-Modes of Self-Control Scale (DMSC-S) and the Parents' Perceived Self-Control Scale. The mean age of the adolescent sample was 17.47 years (ranging from 12.50 to 25.42 years).

RESULTS

Boys exhibited greater good self-control than girls. Poor control increased between 12 and 17 years of age and declined thereafter; however, good self-control increased over the entire study period. Both good self-control and poor control in student participants were significantly associated with parents' perceived self-control; moreover, the association between good self-control and parental self-control was mediated by SES.

CONCLUSION

The roles of age, gender, parental self-control and SES varied in a dual-systems model of self-control: good self-control and poor control. Implications of these results are discussed.

[Effect of thermal conductivity on apical sealing ability of 4 dental gutta-percha cones]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of thermal conductivity on the apical sealing ability of different dental gutta-percha cones during the warm vertical condensation obturation.

METHODS

Four kinds of dental gutta-percha cones were used in this study: Bio-GP points (BP, B&L, Korea), large-tapered gutta-percha (DP, DENTSPLY, America), PROTAPER Universal gutta-percha points (DPP, DENTSPLY, America) and mtwo gutta-percha points (VP, VDW, Germany). Volume differences method was used to determine the main components and the thermal conductivity determinator was used to measure the thermal conductivity of these dental gutta-percha cones. Furthermore, 20 cones randomly selected from each kind of dental gutta-percha cones. And 10 cones of each dental gutta-percha cones, which were cut out the part of 4 mm in length from the apical end, were heated (200 °C) from the upper end without compression, and the temperature of the gutta perchacones surface was monitored in time by the infrared thermal imager during the whole heating process. In addition, the rest of the 10 cones of each dental gutta-percha cones were used to obturate the root canal in the transparent root canal resin model using warm vertical condensation technique. The cross-sectional surface was observed by stereomicroscope (× 40) at 1 mm and 3 mm from the working length and the gutta-percha obturation area proportion was measured and analyzed. The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA.

RESULTS

The proportion of inorganic fillers (80.90%±1.14 %) (P<0.05) and the thermal conductivity (2.247±0.002) of DP was significantly higher than BP (79.28%±3.88%, 1.179±0.003), DPP (68.46%±5.09%, 0.604±0.001), VP (78.86%±1.87%, 1.150±0.001) (P<0.05). During the thermal obturation without compression at the setting temperature (200 °C), DP could achieve 65 °C beyond 1 mm from the heating point, and BP, DPP and VP only reached 65 °C within 1 mm. After warm vertical condensation obturation, all the groups showed increased gutta-percha obturation area proportion. At the position of WL-3, DP (96.89%±0.03%) showed significantly higher proportion of gutta-percha obturation area than BP (95.47%±0.06%), DPP (95.21%±0.03%) and VP (95.15%±0.03%) (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

DP contains more inorganic fillers, possesses higher thermal conductivity, and leads a better apical sealing ability than BP,DPP and VP at the position of WL-3 during warm vertical condensation obturation.

Abstract S3-05: Integrated analysis of multidimensional genomic data on CALGB 40601 (Alliance), a randomized neoadjuvant phase III trial of weekly paclitaxel (T) and trastuzumab (H) with or without lapatinib (L) for HER2-positive breast cancer

Background: RNA profiling and mutational analyses in CALGB 40601 (NCT00770809) found significant impact on pathologic complete response (pCR) rates from tumor (intrinsic subtype, p53 mutation) and microenvironmental (immune cell) features. Integrated analysis across platforms is needed to better understand the roles of these different factors with respect to response to HER2-targeted therapies.

Methods: We performed a comprehensive genomic analyses on pCR, defined as no invasive tumor in the breast, by integrating clinicopathological information with somatic mutation status, 422 segment-level DNA Copy Number Alterations (CNAs), and 510 gene expression signatures using mRNAseq and DNA exome sequencing from 213 pre-treatment tumors. Excluding 48 samples in the TL arm that was closed early due to futility, and 4 Normal-like tumors, the dataset consisted of 161 patients from TH and THL arms including 47 HER2-enriched (HER2E), 8 Basal-like, 54 Luminal A, and 52 Luminal B, all of whom received H. The main analysis was performed using the Elastic Net on multivariate logistic regression models for predicting pCR. The samples were divided into a training and a test set, then models were built to predict pCR by 10-fold cross-validation in the training set, then applying the best model onto the test set to construct ROC curves and evaluate prediction accuracy by calculating area under ROC (AUC). We also used the DawnRank, a network-based bioinformatics tool that integrates DNA and RNA data to identify driver genes, to find predictors of resistance to H-containing therapies.

Results: Among clinicopathological factors, clinical estrogen/progesterone receptor (ER/PgR) status and intrinsic subtype by PAM50 were statistically associated with pCR, but treatment arm (TH vs THL) and stage were not. In the Elastic Net analysis, the models incorporating either gene signatures (AUC: 0.724) or CNAs (AUC: 0.777) were more predictive of response than mutation status model (AUC: 0.635). Gene signatures and CNAs were further combined with either mutation status (AUC: 0.773), clinical ER/PgR status (AUC: 0.787) or ER/PgR status plus intrinsic subtype (AUC: 0.784). The combination with the highest AUC comprised gene signatures, CNAs, and ER/PgR status, and demonstrated that CNAs at Chromosome (Chr.) 6p, 10q22, or 11q23, the signature of Correlation to HER2E, and a T-cell signature, positively predicted pCR and that Luminal and PgR gene signatures were negative predictors. The CN gain of Chr.6p, which contains the HLA genes, predicted for pCR and was associated with higher expression of HLA genes and B cell / IgG signatures. The CN loss of Chr.11q23 including CD3D, CD3E, and CD3G was also identified by DawnRank as a region associated with resistance.

Conclusions: Tumor genetics (CNAs), tumor RNA subtype (HER2E, Luminal), and the microenvironment (immune cells) were independently predictive of response to H-containing therapies and biologically and clinically important for HER2-positive breast cancer, supporting integrated RNA- and DNA-based tumor assessments to clarify response to HER2-targeting.

Support: U10CA031946/033601/180821/180882/180888.

Citation Format: Tanioka M, Fan C, Carey LA, Hyslop T, Pitcher BN, Parker JA, Hoadley KA, Henry NL, Tolaney S, Dang C, Krop IE, Harris L, Berry DA, Mardis E, Perou CM, Winer EP, Hudis CA. Integrated analysis of multidimensional genomic data on CALGB 40601 (Alliance), a randomized neoadjuvant phase III trial of weekly paclitaxel (T) and trastuzumab (H) with or without lapatinib (L) for HER2-positive breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr S3-05.

Abstract PD1-03: Multivariate analysis of subtype and gene expression signatures predictive of pathologic complete response (pCR) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC): CALGB 40603 (Alliance)

Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882

Background: The addition of either carboplatin (Cb) or bevacizumab (Bev) to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) increases pCR rates in TNBC overall and in the dominant subset of basal-like cancers (Sikov et al, JCO 2015; Sikov et al, SABCS 2014). Multigene expression signatures more accurately reflect tumor biology for response prediction and prognosis than individual gene expression. We evaluated the ability of multivariate analysis of gene expression signatures to create predictive models for achievement of pCR in TNBC.

Methods: RNA sequencing was successful on 389 pretreatment samples from patients with available pCR data, and used to assign PAM50 subtype and calculate gene signatures scores for 489 published expression signatures. Elastic net, a penalized regression model for high dimensional variable selection, was used to select features associated with pCR in all TNBC and in the basal-like subset. Models were derived in a training set (2/3 of samples) and validated in a separate test set (1/3). A separate model was derived using 196 TNBC samples from patients treated only on the standard NACT +/- Cb arms for application to external TNBC neoadjuvant data sets not treated with Bev.

Results: Consistent with our prior partial data set, 343 (88%) of the cancers were classified basal-like, in whom the in breast pCR rate was 54%; the remainder were classified normal-like (n=32) or HER2-enriched (n=14) with a non-basal pCR rate of 56%. Elastic Net analysis in all TNBC generated a model of 23 signatures and treatment assignment with 68% sensitivity and 64% specificity. The area under the curve was 0.64 (p-value=0.0019). Nineteen modules, including immune cell signatures (Th1, NK, IgG), immunoglobulin variable region expression, addition of Cb and Bev and expression of genes at regions 15q25, 17p11.2-13.3, and 8p22 were positively associated with response. The latter two regions are associated with aggressive breast cancer, and while not part of the 17p13 signature, this region contains TP53, a gene important in TNBC. Six modules were associated with resistance, including luminal progenitor, TGFB, NOTCH, FOS/JUN, 8p amplicon, and eosinophil signatures. When limited to basal-like samples, a model including 32 modules and addition of Cb and Bev was generated, with 62.3% sensitivity and 59.1% specificity. Seventeen features were selected in both models. Omitting Bev-treated patients, a model using just the gene expression signatures was developed. The predictive value of this model will be assessed using an external cohort of TNBC patients treated with neoadjuvant docetaxel and Cb (NCT01560663) and results presented.

Conclusions: Multivariate analysis of gene expression signatures derived from pretreatment samples enabled the construction of models to predict achievement of pCR in TNBC. These models performed well on our test set, and will be assessed for their predictive ability in other TNBC data sets. If validated by future analyses, this could help us identify patients likely to achieve pCR with standard NACT and may benefit from the addition of agents such as Cb or Bev.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00861705.

Citation Format: Hoadley KA, Hyslop T, Fan C, Berry DA, Hahn O, Tolaney SM, Sikov WM, Perou CM, Carey LA. Multivariate analysis of subtype and gene expression signatures predictive of pathologic complete response (pCR) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC): CALGB 40603 (Alliance) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD1-03.

In situ heavy ion irradiation studies of nanopore shrinkage and enhanced radiation tolerance of nanoporous Au

High energy particle radiations induce severe microstructural damage in metallic materials. Nanoporous materials with a giant surface-to-volume ratio may alleviate radiation damage in irradiated metallic materials as free surface are defect sinks. Here we show, by using in situ Kr ion irradiation in a transmission electron microscope at room temperature, that nanoporous Au indeed has significantly improved radiation tolerance comparing with coarse-grained, fully dense Au. In situ studies show that nanopores can absorb and eliminate a large number of radiation-induced defect clusters. Meanwhile, nanopores shrink (self-heal) during radiation, and their shrinkage rate is pore size dependent. Furthermore, the in situ studies show dose-rate-dependent diffusivity of defect clusters. This study sheds light on the design of radiation-tolerant nanoporous metallic materials for advanced nuclear reactor applications.

Third- and high-order nonlinear optical properties of an intramolecular charge-transfer compound

An oligo(phenylenevinylene) bridged intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) compound, (TCNQ)2OPV3, has been synthesized and its third- and fifth-order nonlinear optical properties have been determined by measurement with the 4f system with a phase-object.

miR-19a promotes colitis-associated colorectal cancer by regulating tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 3-NF-κB feedback loops

Chronic inflammation is believed to have a crucial role in colon cancer development. MicroRNA (miRNA) deregulation is common in human colorectal cancers, but little is known regarding whether miRNA drives tumor progression by regulating inflammation. Here, we showed that miR-19a can promote colitis and colitis-associated colon cancer (CAC) development using a CAC mouse model and an acute colitis mouse model. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) stimulation can increase miR-19a expression, and upregulated miR-19a can in turn activate nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling and TNF-α production by targeting TNF alpha-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3). miR-19a inhibition can also alleviate CAC in vivo. Moreover, the regulatory effects of miR-19a on TNFAIP3 and NF-κB signaling were confirmed using tumor samples from patients with colon cancer. These new findings demonstrate that miR-19a has a direct role in upregulating NF-κB signaling and that miR-19a has roles in inflammation and CAC.

Effects of S906T polymorphism on the severity of a novel borderline mutation I692M in Nav 1.4 cause periodic paralysis

Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HyperPP) is a dominantly inherited muscle disease caused by mutations in SCN4A gene encoding skeletal muscle voltage gated Na_v 1.4 channels. We identified a novel Na_v 1.4 mutation I692M in 14 families out of the 104 genetically identified HyperPP families in the Neuromuscular Centre Ulm and is therefore as frequent as I693T (13 families out of 14 HyperPP families) in Germany. Surprisingly, in 13 families, a known polymorphism S906T was also present. It was on the affected allele in at least 10 families compatible with a possible founder effect in central Europe. All affected members suffered from episodic weakness; myotonia was also common. Compared with I692M patients, I692M-S906T patients had longer weakness episodes, more affected muscles, CK elevation and presence of permanent weakness. Electrophysiological investigation showed that both mutants had incomplete slow inactivation and a hyperpolarizing shift of activation which contribute to membrane depolarization and weakness. Additionally, I692M-S906T significantly enhanced close-state fast inactivation compared with I692M alone, suggesting a higher proportion of inactivated I692M-S906T channels upon membrane depolarization which may facilitate the initiation of weakness episodes and therefore clinical manifestation. Our results suggest that polymorphism S906T has effects on the clinical phenotypic and electrophysiological severity of a novel borderline Na_v 1.4 mutation I692M, making the borderline mutation fully penetrant.

The emerging role of Toll-like receptor 4 in myocardial inflammation

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of pattern recognition receptors involved in cardiovascular diseases. Notably, numerous studies have demonstrated that TLR4 activates the expression of several of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes that play pivotal roles in myocardial inflammation, particularly myocarditis, myocardial infarction, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and heart failure. In addition, TLR4 is an emerging target for anti-inflammatory therapies. Given the significance of TLR4, it would be useful to summarize the current literature on the molecular mechanisms and roles of TLR4 in myocardial inflammation. Thus, in this review, we first introduce the basic knowledge of the TLR4 gene and describe the activation and signaling pathways of TLR4 in myocardial inflammation. Moreover, we highlight the recent progress of research on the involvement of TLR4 in myocardial inflammation. The information reviewed here may be useful to further experimental research and to increase the potential of TLR4 as a therapeutic target.

The effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on chronic stress induced depression-like behaviors, BDNF expression and the phosphorylation of PKA and CREB in rats

Depression is a common neuropsychiatric disorder which has been associated with a wide range of structural and functional changes within specific brain regions. Ginsenoside Rg1 has been shown to exert a number of neuroprotective effects as demonstrated in various in vivo and in vitro studies. However, little information is available regarding the site and mechanisms of ginsenoside Rg1 in promoting antidepressant effects. The present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective and ameliorating effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on depression-like behavior as induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). The results showed that CUMS was effective in producing depression-like behaviors in rats as indicated by decreased responses in sucrose preference and forced swim tests which were associated with ultrastructural changes in neurons within the amygdala. Moreover, levels of PKA and CREB phosphorylation and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were decreased in the amygdala of CUMS rats. Remarkably, chronic ginsenoside Rg1 (40 mg/kg, i.p., 5 weeks) treatment significantly ameliorated these behavioral and biochemical alterations associated with CUMS-induced depression. Taken together, the results of the present study demonstrate that ginsenoside Rg1 exhibits antidepressant-like effects against CUMS-induced depression. This amelioration of depression-like behaviors by ginsenoside Rg1 appears to be mediated, at least in part, by a CREB-regulated increase of BDNF expression in the amygdala of rats. Therefore, these findings reveal the therapeutic potential of ginsenoside Rg1 for use in clinical trials in the treatment of depression.