[Effect of neuroglobin on oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation induced autophagy in a human neuroblastoma cell line]

Objective: To investigate the effect of neuroglobin on oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) induced autophagy in a human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y). Methods: SH-SY5Y cells were transfected with plasmids (or vector) to establish a stable cell line of NGB overexpression (OE). After treated with OGD/R, cells were collected for the analyses of mRNA (Atg5, Atg7, BECN1 and FUNDC1) and protein levels of LC3. Furthermore, mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions were isolated for protein levels of PINK1 and Parkin. Results: Treatment of OGD/R significantly increased the levels of mRNA of Atg5, Atg7, BECN1 and FUNDC1 (peak levels were 4.90±0.71, 6.72±0.75, 2.71±0.39 and 3.96±0.78 fold, all P<0.05). The protein level of Parkin increased in mitochondria and decreased in cytoplasm after the treatment. Compared with the vector group, Ngb OE group showed a significant higher level of FUNDC1 mRNA (3.96±0.78 versus 6.86±0.63 fold, P<0.05), while Atg5, Atg7 and BECN1 mRNA levels showed no significant difference. Moreover, the mitochondrial or cytosolic protein levels of PINK1 or Parkin showed no significant difference between Ngb OE and vector group. Conclusions: Overexpression of Ngb can not affect autophagy or mitohpagy in OGD/R treated SH-SY5Y cells. Overexpression of Ngb can increase the mRNA level of FUNDC1 and the mechanism needs further study.

Limits on Light Weakly Interacting Massive Particles from the First 102.8 kg×day Data of the CDEX-10 Experiment

We report the first results of a light weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) search from the CDEX-10 experiment with a 10 kg germanium detector array immersed in liquid nitrogen at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory with a physics data size of 102.8 kg day. At an analysis threshold of 160 eVee, improved limits of 8×10^{-42} and 3×10^{-36}  cm^{2} at a 90% confidence level on spin-independent and spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon cross sections, respectively, at a WIMP mass (m_{χ}) of 5  GeV/c^{2} are achieved. The lower reach of m_{χ} is extended to 2  GeV/c^{2}.

Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization of Semifluorinated (Meth)acrylates

Fluorinated polymers are important materials for applications in many areas. This article summarizes the development of controlled/living radical polymerization (CRP) of semifluorinated (meth)acrylates, and briefly introduces their reaction mechanisms. While the classical CRP such as atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization (NMP) have promoted the preparation of semifluorinated polymers with tailor-designed architectures, recent development of photo-CRP has led to unprecedented accuracy and monomer scope. We expect that synthetic advances will facilitate the engineering of advanced fluorinated materials with unique properties.

1 Introduction

2 Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

3 Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization

4 Nitroxide-Mediated Radical Polymerization

5 Photo-CRP Mediated with Metal Complexes

6 Metal-free Photo-CRP

7 Conclusion

Unsymmetrical difunctionalization of cyclooctadiene under continuous flow conditions: expanding the scope of ring opening metathesis polymerization

Functionalized cyclooctenes (FCOEs) are important monomers in ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Herein, a new library of disubstituted FCOEs bearing adjacent heteroatoms were synthesized and applied in ROMP. To address the issues associated with the handling of the reactive thienyl chloride intermediate, a two-step continuous flow method has been developed to prepare 5-thio-6-chlorocyclooctene compounds from abundant cyclooctadiene starting materials. These newly synthesized FCOE monomers were subsequently polymerized through ROMP, giving rise to a range of functionalized polymers with high molecular weights. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the thermal properties of these polymers could be fine-tuned by changing the functional groups in the FCOE monomers. We expect that this functionalization-polymerization strategy will enable the preparation of a range of polymeric materials with complex structures.

Preparation of semifluorinated poly(meth)acrylates by improved photo-controlled radical polymerization without the use of a fluorinated RAFT agent: facilitating surface fabrication with fluorinated materials

Semifluorinated poly(meth)acrylates are prepared under both organocatalyzed and catalyst-free photo-controlled radical polymerization conditions from simple RAFT agents.

Genetic mapping using 1.4M SNP array refined loci for fatty acid composition traits in Chinese Erhualian and Bamaxiang pigs

Chinese indigenous pigs display marked genetic and phenotypic differences compared with western commercial pigs. In this study, we tested the association between 660K SNPs and longissimus muscle fatty acid composition traits in Chinese Erhualian (n = 331) and Bamaxiang (n = 315) pigs based on a customized 1.4 million SNP array. We identified a total of 64 significant associations for 20 fatty acid composition traits at the p-value threshold of 1 × 10^-6 among which 42 associations in low linkage disequilibrium (r²  < .2) with previously reported loci were considered novel. We substantially improved the strength and precision of the associations at four previously detected loci near FADS2, ELOVL7, ELOVL6 and FASN genes, facilitating follow-up candidate gene studies. Moreover, we also identified loci near ABCD2, ACSBG1, ELOVL5, HPGDS, DAGT2, ACAD10 and ACSL1 genes with function relevant to metabolism of fatty acids. In this study, valuable genetic variants and candidate genes associated with fatty acid composition traits were identified in Erhualian and Bamaxiang pigs. Some identified loci could be used to improve pork nutrition in pig breeding practice. Using the SNP array with higher marker density and less ascertainment bias improved QTL detection power and precision in Chinese indigenous pigs.

MiR-24 alleviates cardiomyocyte apoptosis after myocardial infarction via targeting BIM

OBJECTIVE

Ischemia hypoxia induces cardiomyocyte (CM) apoptosis in the process of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). It was showed that pro-apoptosis factor BIM participates in regulating tumor cell apoptosis under ischemia or hypoxia condition, while its role in CM apoptosis after AMI is still unclear. It was revealed that miR-24 expression was significantly reduced in myocardial tissue after AMI. Bioinformatics analysis exhibits that miR-24 is targeted to the 3'-UTR of BIM. This study aims to investigate the role of miR-24 in mediating BIM expression and CM apoptosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Dual-luciferase assay was used to confirm the targeted regulation between miR-24 and BIM. Cells were cultured under ischemia hypoxia for 12 h after transfection for 48 h. Cell apoptosis was tested by using flow cytometry. The caspase activity was detected by using spectrophotometry. Wistar rats were divided into four groups, including Sham, AMI, AMI + agomir-control, and AMI + agomir-24 groups. Cardiac function was evaluated by using echocardiography. CM apoptosis was determined by using TUNEL. Infarction area was measured by using evans blue staining. MiR-24 targeted suppressed BIM expression.

RESULTS

MiR-24 mimic and/or si-BIM transfection significantly declined the BIM expression, inhibited caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities, and reduced cell apoptosis in H9C2 cells. MiR-24 expression was decreased, while BIM levels were up-regulated in myocardium after AMI. Agomir-24 injection down-regulated the BIM expression in myocardium, reduced CM apoptosis, narrowed infarction area, and improved cardiac function in rats.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-24 was reduced, whereas BIM was enhanced in the CM after AMI. MiR-24 up-regulation plays a critical role in decreasing BIM expression, reducing CM apoptosis, and improving cardiac function after AMI.

[Factors associated with lost of follow-up of men who have sex with men in a gay bathhouse cohort study in Tianjin, 2012-2015]

Objective: To understand the rate of follow-up lost in men who have sex with men (MSM) in a gay bathhouse cohort study in Tianjin and the associated factors. Methods: The open cohort study in gay bathhouse was launched in 2012 in Tianjin, and the MSM for baseline survey were recruited from January to June 2012, while the follow up was carried out every six months. A questionnaire survey and HIV test were conducted in the study. The MSM who were HIV negative in the baseline survey in 2012 were used for follow up lost analysis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted to identify the factors associated with the lost of follow-up. Results: A total of 658 gay bathhouse patrons were recruited in the baseline survey, at the end of 42-month follow-up period, 173 of them dropped out (26.3%). Multivariate analysis showed that the MSM who were local residents (OR=0.552, 95%CI: 0.377-0.808), in Han ethnic group (OR=0.197, 95% CI: 0.066-0.593), having received HIV test in the last year (OR=0.481, 95% CI: 0.326-0.710), were male sex workers (OR=0.127, 95% CI: 0.028-0.585), and believed to be at high risk for HIV infection (OR=0.285, 95% CI: 0.125-0.647). They were more likely to receive follow-up but the MSM who were aged ≥35 years (OR=1.891, 95%CI: 1.022-3.500) were more likely to be lost in the follow-up. Conclusion: The lost rate of follow-up in MSM in the gay bathhouse cohort was high in Tianjin. Age, household registration, history of HIV test, the awareness of the risk to be infected with HIV and commercial homosex were factors associated with the follow-up rate in the MSM. It is necessary to conduct similar cohort study in targeted population on the basis of findings of this study.

Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay

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

[Meta-analysis on the positive rate of HIV among MSM with bathhouse as the major venue of sexual practice]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the positive rates on HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) who took bathhouse as the major place for sexual practice in China, between 2010 and 2015.

METHODS

Articles published between 2010 and 2015 from CNKI, Wanfang Data, CJFD and PubMed were collected and Stata 12.0 software was used for Meta-analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 14 articles were selected. Random effects model was employed to calculate the pooled positive rate according to statistical tests for homogeneity with the result I(2)=88.1%. The pooled positive rate appeared as 10.3%, with 95%CI as 7.7%-13.0%. Publication bias was assessed by Egger' s test and funnel plot. After stratified analysis on factors as: sample size, year, region and methods on recruitment, the pooled positive rate of HIV appeared higher in people living in the coastal provinces than those in the inland provinces.

CONCLUSION

The pooled positive rate of HIV identified from the bathhouses appeared higher than that from other places through, the national HIV sentinel surveillance data, with coastal higher than that in the inland provinces. Bathhouse was recognized as the key place to be carried on intervention programs for the MSM population.

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

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

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

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

High Dielectric and Mechanical Properties Achieved in Cross-Linked PVDF/α-SiC Nanocomposites with Elevated Compatibility and Induced Polarization at the Interface

Remarkably improved dielectric properties including high-k, low loss, and high breakdown strength combined with promising mechanical performance such as high flexibility, good heat, and chemical resistivity are hard to be achieved in high-k dielectric composites based on the current composite fabrication strategy. In this work, a family of high-k polymer nanocomposites has been fabricated from a facile suspension cast process followed by chemical cross-linking at elevated temperature. Internal double bonds bearing poly(vinylidene fluoride-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-CTFE-DB)) in total amorphous phase are employed as cross-linkable polymer matrix. α-SiC particles with a diameter of 500 nm are surface modified with 3-aminpropyltriethoxysilane (KH-550) as fillers for their comparable dielectric performance with PVDF polymer matrix, low conductivity, and high breakdown strength. The interface between SiC particles and PVDF matrix has been finely tailored, which leads to the significantly elevated dielectric constant from 10 to over 120 in SiC particles due to the strong induced polarization. As a result, a remarkably improved dielectric constant (ca. 70) has been observed in c-PVDF/m-SiC composites bearing 36 vol % SiC, which could be perfectly predicted by the effective medium approximation (EMA) model. The optimized interface and enhanced compatibility between two components are also responsible for the depressed conductivity and dielectric loss in the resultant composites. Chemical cross-linking constructed in the composites results in promising mechanical flexibility, good heat and chemical stability, and elevated tensile performance of the composites. Therefore, excellent dielectric and mechanical properties are finely balanced in the PVDF/α-SiC composites. This work might provide a facile and effective strategy to fabricate high-k dielectric composites with promising comprehensive performance.

Progress of Experimental Research on Nuclear Safety in NPIC

Two kinds of Generation III commercial nuclear power plants have been developed in CNNC (China National Nuclear Corporation), one is a small modular reactor ACP100 having an equivalent electric power 100 MW, and the other is HPR1000 (once named ACP1000) having an equivalent electric power 1 000 MW. Both NPPs widely adopted the design philosophy of advanced passive safety systems and considered the lessons from Fukushima Daichi nuclear accident. As the backbone of the R&D of ACP100 and HPR1000, NPIC (Nuclear power Institute of China) has finished the engineering verification test of main safety systems, including passive residual heat removal experiments, reactor cavity injection experiments, hydrogen combustion experiments, and passive autocatalytic recombiner experiments. Above experimental work conducted in NPIC and further research plan of nuclear safety are introduced in this paper.

[Cytology of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma of lung: a comparative study]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the roles of cytomorphology and immunohistochemistry in distinguishing between basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSC) and small cell carcinoma (SCC) of lung.

METHODS

The direct smears and/or liquid-based cytology preparation (ThinPrep) of bronchial brushing/washing and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens from 17 cases of biopsy-proven BSC of lung were retrospectively reviewed and compared with those from 17 cases of SCC. The cytomorphologic parameters analyzed included proportion of cohesive cell clusters, cell palisades/rosettes, adenoid cystic features, crushing artifact, nuclear maximum diameter, nuclear molding, scantiness of cytoplasm,"salt-and-pepper"nuclei, distinct nucleoli, spindly configuration, individual cell keratinization, necrosis, hyaline material, apoptosis and mitotic activity. Immunocytochemical/immunohistochemical study of 25 cases was performed. Ten FNA samples of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma were also analyzed for epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in exons 18, 19, 20 and 21 using amplification refractory mutation system.

RESULTS

Most of the 17 BSC cases (15/17) showed a predominance of tightly cohesive tumor cell clusters. The proportion of isolated tumor cells was high in SCC (more than 60% in 14 cases). The nuclear maximum diameter of BSC was slightly larger than that of SCC (9 to 11 μm in BSC versus 7 to 9 μm in SCC)."Salt-in-pepper"nuclei, nuclear molding and crushing artifact were detected in all SCC cases (15/17, 17/17 and 14/17, respectively). These features were only occasionally found in BSC group. Nucleoli were present in BSC and rarely (2/17) in SCC. Only 9 of 17 BSC cases showed individual cell keratinization. The differences in the above-mentioned cytomorphologic features were statistically significance (P<0.05). The results of immunohistochemistry performed on the cell block sections and immunocytochemistry performed on the ThinPrep slides were identical to that performed on the corresponding biopsy specimens. The tumor cells in BSC were consistently positive for CK5, p40 and p63. TTF1, chromogranin A, synaptophysin and CD56 were positive in most of SCC. One of SCC cases showed focal PAX5 expression. No EGFR mutations were detected in the 10 BSC cases studied.

CONCLUSIONS

Selected cytomorphologic features, including presence of cohesive cell clusters, larger nuclear size, distinct nucleoli, lack of crushing artifact, absence of nuclear molding and presence of individual cell keratinization, are helpful in diagnosing BSC on cytology specimens. Immunohistochemistry using a panel of TTF1, CK5, p40/p63 and chromogranin A/synaptophysin/CD56 provides further clues in differential diagnosis between BSC and SCC. EGFR mutation study is often negative in lung BSC.

Centrality-Dependent Modification of Jet-Production Rates in Deuteron-Gold Collisions at √[s(NN)]=200 GeV

Jet production rates are measured in p+p and d+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV recorded in 2008 with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Jets are reconstructed using the R=0.3 anti-k_{t} algorithm from energy deposits in the electromagnetic calorimeter and charged tracks in multiwire proportional chambers, and the jet transverse momentum (p_{T}) spectra are corrected for the detector response. Spectra are reported for jets with 12<p_{T}<50  GeV/c, within a pseudorapidity acceptance of |η|<0.3. The nuclear-modification factor (R_{dAu}) values for 0%-100% d+Au events are found to be consistent with unity, constraining the role of initial state effects on jet production. However, the centrality-selected R_{dAu} values and central-to-peripheral ratios (R_{CP}) show large, p_{T}-dependent deviations from unity, challenging the conventional models that relate hard-process rates and soft-particle production in collisions involving nuclei.

Measurement of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay

This Letter reports a measurement of the flux and energy spectrum of electron antineutrinos from six 2.9 GWth nuclear reactors with six detectors deployed in two near (effective baselines 512 and 561 m) and one far (1579 m) underground experimental halls in the Daya Bay experiment. Using 217 days of data, 296 721 and 41 589 inverse β decay (IBD) candidates were detected in the near and far halls, respectively. The measured IBD yield is (1.55±0.04) ×10(-18)  cm(2) GW(-1) day(-1) or (5.92±0.14) ×10(-43)  cm(2) fission(-1). This flux measurement is consistent with previous short-baseline reactor antineutrino experiments and is 0.946±0.022 (0.991±0.023) relative to the flux predicted with the Huber-Mueller (ILL-Vogel) fissile antineutrino model. The measured IBD positron energy spectrum deviates from both spectral predictions by more than 2σ over the full energy range with a local significance of up to ∼4σ between 4-6 MeV. A reactor antineutrino spectrum of IBD reactions is extracted from the measured positron energy spectrum for model-independent predictions.

Synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate–methallyl alcohol) via controllable partial hydrogenation of poly(methyl methacrylate) towards high pulse energy storage capacitor application

The first synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate–methallyl alcohol) (P(MMA–MAA)) copolymersviaan indirect polymerization process involving the partial hydrogenation of PMMA with promising energy storage capability has been reported.