Correction: The lipogenic LXR-SREBF1 signaling pathway controls cancer cell DNA repair and apoptosis and is a vulnerable point of malignant tumors for cancer therapy

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

[Technical notes and clinical efficacy analysis of full-endoscopic thoracic discectomy via transforaminal approach]

Objective: To study the technical notes and clinical efficacy of full-endoscopic thoracic intervertebral discectomy via transforaminal approach. Methods: We included 16 patients with thoracic disc herniation treated by full-endoscopic thoracic discectomy via transforaminal approach between January 2017 and September 2018 in ours department of orthopedics. The average age is 53.7 years. The compressionare classified by nature: 5 cases of soft thoracic disc herniation, 7 cases of calcified or ossified thoracic disc herniation, and 4 cases of osteophyte protrusion of the posterior edge of the adjacent vertebral body of the diseased disc. All patients had symptoms of thoracic myelopathy before operation, and 7 of them had radiculopathy. Via transforaminal approach under local anesthesia, enlarged foraminoplasty and full-endoscopic thoracic discectomy were used for treatment. Observe the changes of postoperative imaging, pain symptoms and recovery of spinal cord function at 1 week, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after operation. Back pain and radicular pain were scored with VAS, neurological function was assessed with Nurick score and mJOA score, and thoracic spine function was assessed with Oswestry disability index (ODI). Results: All operations were successfully completed, and no intraoperative conversion of surgical methods occurred. Postoperative thoracic MRI and CT examinations of all patients showed that the spinal cord was fully decompressed without any residual compression. Back pain and radicular pain were all relieved obviously in all patients, and spinal cord function was obviously restored. Transient intercostal neuralgia occurred in 2 cases after operation, and no other surgical complications occurred. Conclusions: Full-endoscopic or fluoroscopic foraminoplasty and full-endoscopic thoracic discectomyvia transforaminal approach under local anesthesia is a safe and effective treatment for soft and hard thoracic disc herniation located on the ventral side of the spinal cord.

Forensic Identification of Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

This paper reviews relevant literatures at home and abroad. The cases of child sexual abuse are systematically discussed from the aspects of epidemiology and forensic examination, in order to develop and improve the inspection and appraisal thinking and ability of domestic forensic workers in such cases. The paper also briefly introduces the current situation and existing problems of dealing with child sexual abuse cases for case-handling units at base level in China, in order to provide help to the formulation, improvement and development of relevant standards and norms for child protection in China.

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict the risk of occult cervical lymph node metastases in cN0 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

We have explored the relations between clinicopathological features and cervical lymph node metastases (LNM) in patients with cN0 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue, and developed and validated a nomogram for predicting the risk of their development. Clinical data on 230 patients with cN0 SCC of the tongue who had had primary extended excision and lymph node dissection of the neck were collected retrospectively. They were divided into a development cohort and a validation cohort in a 4:1 ratio. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the risk factors of cervical LNM in patients in the development cohort, and a nomogram was established to predict the risk of such nodes. In the validation cohort, the predictive performance and compliance of the model were evaluated using the consistency index (C-index) and calibration curve, and the clinical value was evaluated by decision curve analysis. Of the 230 patients, 60 had cervical LNM, of which 60 were invaded (26%). Analysis of the development cohort showed that the site of the primary lesion, depth of invasion, size of the tumour, and histopathological grade were included in the prediction model, which was validated in the validation cohort. Consistency was high (C-index=0.846), calibration good, and it was clinically valuable. The nomogram could be used to predict the probability of occult cervical LNM before operation in patients with stage cN0 SCC of the tongue. It could also be used as a reference tool for dissection of cervical nodes and a communication tool between the doctor and the patient.

Emergent dynamics of extremes in a population driven by common information sources and new social media algorithms

We quantify how and when extreme subpopulations emerge in a model society despite everyone having the same information and available resources – and show that counterintuitively these extremes will likely be enhanced over time by new social media algorithms designed to reduce division. We verify our analysis mathematically, and show it reproduces (a) the time-dependent behavior observed in controlled experiments on humans, (b) the findings of a recent study of online behavior by Facebook concerning the impact of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ news, (c) the observed temporal emergence of extremes in U.S. House of Representatives voting, and (d) the real-time emergence of a division in national opinion during the ongoing peace process in Colombia. We uncover a novel societal tipping point which is a ‘ghost’ of a nearby saddle-node bifurcation from dynamical systems theory, and which provides a novel policy opportunity for preventing extremes from emerging.

[Comparison between hybrid surgery and transabdominal preperitoneal surgery in treatment of irreducible inguinal hernia: A case-control study]

Objective: To compare the effects between hybrid surgery and transabdominal preperitoneal surgery in treatment of irreducible inguinal hernia. Methods: A total of 60 patients who underwent laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair between June 2011 and December 2017 were included in the study. Patients were divided into two group: hybrid surgery group (observation group, n=30) and transabdominal preperitoneal group (control group, n=30). The operation time, intraoperative bleeding, hospital stay, hospital cost and complications were analyzed. Results: The operative time of observation group and control group was 45 (35-65) minutes and 50(35-70) minutes, respectively. Intraoperative blood loss of two groups was 10(5-15) ml and 5(2-10) ml. The length of postoperative hospital stay was 2(1-4) days and 2(1-3) days in the two groups, respectively. And the hospitalization cost of two groups was 9 646 (9 066-11 560) yuan and 9 494(8 989-10 660) yuan, respectively. The intraoperative complications occurred in 4 cases in control group, including 1 case of vas deferens injury, 2 cases of spermatic vessel injury and 1 case of inferior epigastric artery injury. No intraoperative complications occurred in observation group. Perioperative complications in observation group and control group included dysuria (6.7% vs 10.0%), scrotum hematoma (3.4% vs 0%), wound pain (46.7% vs 6.7%) and fever (16.7% vs 20.0%). Twelve months of follow-up was completed in all the patients, and no recurrence or infections occurred in the two groups. The incidence of seroma in observation group and control group was 26.7%, 33.3%, respectively. One case of foreign body sensation and one case of chronic pain occurred in control group. The incidence of perioperative wound pain in patients undergoing hybrid surgery was higher than those undergoing transabdominal preperitoneal surgery (P<0.05), but no statistical differences were observed for other variables between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Hybrid surgery is safe and feasible for the treatment of irreducible inguinal hernia. Though with a higher incidence of postoperative acute pain, it may have advantages of avoiding injuries of the vas deferens and spermatic vessels.

Upgrading Plan Towards Multi-messenger Observation with LHAASO

LHAASO is planning to enhance its sensitivity at energies around 100 GeV by utilize MCP staffed 20” PMT in the Water Cherekove Detector Array. The effective area for gamma ray detection will reach to 1800 m2 and differential sensitivity to 0.2 CU at 50 GeV. It will be the very useful survey detection for transient phenomena at 50 GeV in the northern sky. LHAASO is expected to play an important role in the multimessenger observation with the upgrading.

Selective activation of tumor-suppressive MAPKP signaling pathway by triptonide effectively inhibits pancreatic cancer cell tumorigenicity and tumor growth

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK, 1K) family members ERK, JNK, and p38 play a divergent role in either promoting tumorigenesis or tumor-suppression. Activation of ERK and JNK promotes tumorigenesis; whereas, escalation of p38 inhibits carcinogenesis. As these three MAPK members are controlled by the common up-stream MAPK signaling proteins which consist of MAPK kinases (2K) and MAPK kinase kinases (3K), how to selectively actuate tumor-suppressive p38, not concurrently stimulate tumorigenic ERK and JNK, in cancer cells is a challenge for cancer researchers, and a new opportunity for novel anti-cancer drug discovery. Using human pancreatic cancer cells and xenograft mice as models, we found that a small molecule triptonide first discerningly activated the up-stream MAPK kinase kinase MEKK4, not the other two 3K members ASK1 and GADD45; and then selectively actuated the middle stream MAPK kinase MKK4, not the other two 2K members MKK3 and MKK6; and followed by activation of the MAPK member p38, not the other two members ERK and JNK. These data suggest that triptonide is a selective MEKK4-MKK4-p38 axis agonist. Consequently, selective activation of the MEKK4-MKK4-p38 signaling axis by triptonide activated tumor suppressor p21 and inhibited CDK3 expression, resulting in cancer cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and marked inhibition of pancreatic cancer cell tumorigenic capability in vitro and tumor growth in xenograft mice. Our findings support the notion that selective activation of tumor-suppressive MEKK4-MKK4-p38-p21signaling pathway by triptonide is a new approach for pancreatic cancer therapy, providing a new drug candidate for development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics.

MicroRNA-1285 inhibits malignant biological behaviors of human pancreatic cancer cells by negative regulation of YAP1

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a most deadly malignancy, with a 5-year survival rate of ~7%. Chemotherapy is the main treatment strategy of this disease. However, the high rate of resistance to chemotherapeutic agent contributes to poor prognosis. MicroRNAs are essential for the initiation, progression and chemoresistance of human malignancies. Previous studies have shown that miRNA-1285 participates in renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, its roles in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma are poorly understood. In this study, we confirmed that miR-1285 was significantly down-regulated in gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cell lines by qRT-PCR. We found that miR-1285 suppressed cell proliferation as well as increased the sensitivity of PDAC cells to gemcitabine by CCK8 assays in vitro. Results from transwell assay indicated that miR-1285 inhibited pancreatic cancer cell migration and invasion. Experiments using different cell lines got identical results. All those results demonstrated that miR-1285 act as tumor suppressor of pancreatic cancer. To our knowledge, this study is the first to elucidate the function of miR-1285 in pancreatic cancer. Western blotting analysis verified that miR-1285 negatively regulated YAP1 protein level, together with EGFR and β-catenin. YAP1 is a known oncoprotein of pancreatic cancer. As silencing of YAP1 activity might be beneficial in cancer prevention and treatment, our results suggest that miR-1285 might serve as a novel therapeutic target for miRNA-based therapy in pancreatic cancer. Further research elucidating the exact mechanisms of miRNA-1285 function and the correlation between miR-1285 levels in tissues or serum and clinical characteristics of pancreatic cancer is needed later.

Mid-infrared laser heterodyne radiometer (LHR) based on a 3.53 μm room-temperature interband cascade laser

The performance of an interband cascade laser based laser heterodyne radiometer (LHR) is demonstrated in ground-based solar occultation mode. High-resolution (0.0033 cm^-1) transmission spectra near 3.53 μm were obtained for simultaneous atmospheric observations of H₂O and CH₄. Combined with the preprocessed measurement data (acquired at Hefei, China, on June 21th 2016), an optimal estimation method based retrieval algorithm is developed for data retrieval and error analysis. By considering the corrected atmospheric parameters, vertical profiles of H₂O and CH₄ are retrieved. Finally, the measured total column abundance and XCH4 were calculated to be 1.87 ± 0.02 ppm and 1.88 ± 0.02 ppm, respectively. The interband cascade laser-based laser heterodyne radiometer that is demonstrated in this manuscript has high potential for use in the development of compact, robust, and unattended LHR for spacecraft, airborne or ground-based atmospheric sensing.

Measurement of knees of the spectra of heavy nuclei above 10 PeV with LHAASO

Measuring the knees of the cosmic ray spectra for individual species is a very important approach to solve the problem of the origin of ultra high energy galactic cosmic rays. The knee of the iron spectrum is implied to be above 10 PeV from previous experiments, such as ARGO-YBJ and LHAASO-WFCTA. LHAASO is a suitable size for measurements with the required precision. The key is to separate iron nuclei from all cosmic ray samples. In this paper, we identify a couple of variables that are sensitive to the composition of showers recorded by the detector arrays in LHAASO. A multi variate analysis is proposed for the separation. The efficiency and purity of the selection for demanded species are optimized by well configuring the LHAASO array using the LHAASO simulation tools.

Lycorine inhibits melanoma cell migration and metastasis mainly through reducing intracellular levels of β-catenin and matrix metallopeptidase 9

Metastatic melanoma accounts for 60% of death for skin cancer. Although great efforts have been made to treat the disease, effective drugs against metastatic melanoma still lack at the clinical setting. In the current study, we found that lycorine, a small molecule of isoquinoline alkaloid, significantly suppressed melanoma cell migration and invasion in vitro, and decreased the metastasis of melanoma cells to lung tissues in tumor-bearing mice, resulting in significant prolongation of the survival of the mice without obvious toxicity. Molecular mechanistic studies revealed that lycorine significantly reduced intracellular levels of β-catenin protein through degradation of the protein via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, and decreased the expression of β-catenin downstream prometastatic matrix metallopeptidase 9 and Axin2 genes. Collectively, our findings support the notion that targeting the oncogenic β-catenin by lycorine is a new option to inhibit melanoma cell metastasis, providing a good drug candidate potential for development novel therapeutics against metastatic melanoma.

Abstract LB-127: From bench to bedside: Exploring OX40 receptor modulation in a phase 1/2a study of the OX40 costimulatory agonist BMS-986178 ± nivolumab (NIVO) or ipilimumab (IPI) in patients with advanced solid tumors

Background: Activation of OX40, a costimulatory protein in the tumor necrosis factor receptor super family, enhances T effector cell activation and inhibits T regulatory (Treg) cell-mediated suppression. Preclinical data showed that combination of an OX40 agonist with checkpoint blockade (anti-PD-1 or anti-CTLA-4) enhanced antitumor activity vs checkpoint blockade alone. BMS-986178 is a fully human IgG1 agonist monoclonal antibody that binds with high affinity to OX40 and was well tolerated ± NIVO (anti-PD-1; Olszanski AJ, et al. J Immunother Cancer 2017;5(suppl2) [abstract O17]). The relationship between receptor modulation and the activity of agonist OX40 agents in the clinic is not clear. Here we present findings on the regulation of OX40 receptor expression and T-cell activation by BMS-986178 ± NIVO or IPI (anti–CTLA-4) from the phase 1/2a study in patients with advanced solid tumors (NCT02737475).

Methods: Patients with ≥ 1 prior therapy were treated in this open-label, dose-escalation and -expansion study. During escalation, patients received BMS-986178 monotherapy 20-320 mg IV Q2W, BMS-986178 20-320 mg + NIVO 240 mg IV Q2W, or BMS-986178 20-320 mg + IPI 1 mg/kg IV Q3W. Pharmacokinetics (PK) and systemic pharmacodynamics (PD) were evaluated, including analysis of OX40 receptor occupancy (RO), CD4+ T cell- and Treg-cell surface OX40 expression, soluble OX40 (sOX40) levels, cytokines, and proliferation of effector memory T cells in circulation.

Results: BMS-986178 PK was linear from 20 to 320 mg when administered as monotherapy (n = 20), + NIVO (n = 38), or + IPI (n = 32). Moreover, BMS-986178 ± NIVO or IPI stimulated the production of IFN-γ and increased proliferating (Ki-67+) effector memory T cells. Concomitant downregulation of OX40 expression on the cell surface of CD4+ T cells and Tregs was observed as OX40 RO approached saturation at BMS-986178 doses of ≥ 40 mg. Furthermore, BMS-986178 doses of 20-160 mg ± NIVO or IPI increased sOX40 levels, while BMS-986178 doses of ≥ 160 mg ± NIVO or IPI led to sOX40 plateau.

Conclusions: Clinical PK/PD findings showed efficient BMS-986178 target engagement and confirmed preclinical observations that BMS-986178 can modulate RO and OX40/sOX40 expression. Furthermore, peripheral T-cell activation was observed in patients treated with BMS-986178 ± NIVO or IPI. Coupled with our preclinical observations, these findings highlight a complex dose-response relationship between BMS-986178 receptor saturation, receptor modulation, and induction of soluble receptor. These data support further clinical investigation of a broader dose range and optimal schedules for BMS-986178 ± NIVO or IPI.

Citation Format: Rui Wang, Yan Feng, Ed Hilt, Xiling Yuan, Chan Gao, Xiao Shao, Yongliang Sun, Michael D'silva, Katherine Yang, Becky Penhallow, Goce Bogdanoski, Rajesh Anand, Irene Pak, Danielle Greenawalt, Anke Klippel, Nataly Manjarrez-Orduno, Robert Neely, Michael Quigley, Michael Hedrick, Praveen Aanur, Z Cao. From bench to bedside: Exploring OX40 receptor modulation in a phase 1/2a study of the OX40 costimulatory agonist BMS-986178 ± nivolumab (NIVO) or ipilimumab (IPI) in patients with advanced solid tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-127.

Gradient cross-correlation algorithm for scene-based Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensing

Scene-based wavefront sensing currently uses the periodic-correlation algorithm based on fast Fourier transforms. However, when the object scene contains features at the field edges, the performance of the algorithm is poor due to the periodicity of fast Fourier transforms, called wraparound effect. In this paper, we propose an algorithm based on the gradient cross-correlation. Both simulation and experiment results show its dramatic effectiveness against the wraparound effect, and a considerable improvement is obtained in image resolution with closed loop adaptive optics correction.

Universality and correlations in individuals wandering through an online extremist space

The "out of the blue" nature of recent terror attacks and the diversity of apparent motives highlight the importance of understanding the online trajectories that individuals follow prior to developing high levels of extremist support. Here we show that the physics of stochastic walks, with and without temporal correlation, provides a unifying description of these online trajectories. Our unique data set comprising all users of a global social media site reveals universal characteristics in individuals' online lifetimes. Our accompanying theory generates analytical and numerical solutions that describe the characteristics shown by individuals that go on to develop high levels of extremist support and those that do not. Going forward, it is conceivable that a deeper understanding of these temporal and many-body correlations may eventually contribute to the important task of better countering the spread of radical propaganda online.