MiR-299-3p functions as a tumor suppressor in thyroid cancer by regulating SHOC2

OBJECTIVE

Thyroid cancer (TC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world. The prognosis of TC patients with advanced stage or recurrence is still poor. However, the biological role of miR-299-3p in TC remains unknown. The aim of our current research was to investigate the role of miR-299-3p in TC progression.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

MiR-299-3p expression level in both TC tissues and cell lines was determined by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell proliferation ability was examined by Cell Count Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation assay. Cell cycle progression and cell apoptosis were determined by flow cytometric analysis. Dual-Luciferase reporter assay was recruited to validate whether SHOC2 was a downstream target of miR-299-3p. In addition, the protein expression SHOC2 in transfected cells was examined by Western blotting.

RESULTS

We found that miR-299-3p was significantly downregulated in TC tissues and cell lines. To verify the role of miR-299-3p in TC, we transfected mimics and inhibitor in selected cell lines for over-expressing or down-expressing miR-299-3p, respectively. After transfection, cell functional experiments were subsequently employed. The results indicated that miR-299-3p could inhibit cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, whereas remarkably promote cell apoptosis in TC cell lines. Bioinformatics predicted that SHOC2 might be a potential target of miR-299-3p. Subsequent Dual-Luciferase reporter analysis validated our hypothesis. Rescue assay showed that miR-299-3p functioned as a tumor suppressor by targeting SHOC2 in TC.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-299-3p functioned as a tumor suppressor in TC by targeting SHOC2. Our research provided novel insights into the molecular mechanism underlying TC progression, which might afford some new understanding in biomarkers and therapeutic strategies in TC development.

First Measurement of Λ_{c} Baryon Production in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

We report on the first measurement of the charmed baryon Λ_{c}^{±} production at midrapidity (|y|<1) in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV collected by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The Λ_{c}/D^{0} [denoting (Λ_{c}^{+}+Λ_{c}^{-})/(D^{0}+D[over ¯]^{0})] yield ratio is measured to be 1.08±0.16  (stat)±0.26  (sys) in the 0%-20% most central Au+Au collisions for the transverse momentum (p_{T}) range 3<p_{T}<6  GeV/c. This is significantly larger than the pythia model calculations for p+p collisions. The measured Λ_{c}/D^{0} ratio, as a function of p_{T} and collision centrality, is comparable to the baryon-to-meson ratios for light and strange hadrons in Au+Au collisions. Model calculations including coalescence hadronization for charmed baryon and meson formation reproduce the features of our measured Λ_{c}/D^{0} ratio.

Rapid data-driven model reduction of nonlinear dynamical systems including chemical reaction networks using ℓ1-regularization

Large-scale nonlinear dynamical systems, such as models of atmospheric hydrodynamics, chemical reaction networks, and electronic circuits, often involve thousands or more interacting components. In order to identify key components in the complex dynamical system as well as to accelerate simulations, model reduction is often desirable. In this work, we develop a new data-driven method utilizing ℓ¹-regularization for model reduction of nonlinear dynamical systems, which involves minimal parameterization and has polynomial-time complexity, allowing it to easily handle large-scale systems with as many as thousands of components in a matter of minutes. A primary objective of our model reduction method is interpretability, that is to identify key components of the dynamical system that contribute to behaviors of interest, rather than just finding an efficient projection of the dynamical system onto lower dimensions. Our method produces a family of reduced models that exhibit a trade-off between model complexity and estimation error. We find empirically that our method chooses reduced models with good extrapolation properties, an important consideration in practical applications. The reduction and extrapolation performance of our method are illustrated by applications to the Lorenz model and chemical reaction rate equations, where performance is found to be competitive with or better than state-of-the-art approaches.

[Chromosomal aberrations detection in chronic lymphocytic leukemia by conventional cytogenetics using DSP30 and IL-2]

Objective: To study the value of unmethylated cytosine guanine dinucleotide oligodeoxynucleotide (DSP30) and IL-2 in the conventional cytogenetic (CA) detection of the chromosomal aberrations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) . Methods: Bone marrow or peripheral blood cells of CLL patients were cultured with DSP30 plus IL-2 for 72 h, following which R-banding analysis was conducted. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed in 85 patients. CA results were compared with data obtained by FISH. Results: Among 89 CLL patients, the success rate of chromosome analysis was 94.38% (84/89) . Clonal aberrations were detected in 51 patients (51/84, 60.71%) . Of them, 27 (27/51, 52.94%) were complex karyotype. Among 85 CLL patients tested by FISH, chromosomal abnormalities were detected in 74 (74/85, 87.06%) patients, of which 2 (2/74) patients were complex karyotypes, accounting for 2.70%. Of the 85 CLL patients examined by FISH, 50 had abnormal karyotype analysis, 30 had normal karyotype, 5 failed to have chromosome analysis. Among them, 25 cases showed clonal aberrations by FISH assay but normal by CA, and 4 cases were normal by FISH but displayed aberrations in chromosome analysis, and totally 78 (91.76%) cases with abnormality detected by the combination of the two methods. The frequency of 13q- abnormality detected by FISH was significantly higher than that by CA analysis (69.41%vs 16.67%, P<0.001) , while the frequency of 11q-,+12 and 17p- detected by two methods showed no significant difference (P>0.05) . The detection rate of complex abnormalities in conventional karyotype analysis was higher than that in FISH (50.98%vs 2.70%) . In addition, 11 low-risk and 9 intermediate-risk patients according to FISH results showed complex karyotype by cytogenetics, and were classified into high-risk cytogenetic subgroup. Conclusion: DSP30 and IL-2 are effective in improving the detection rate of CA in CLL patients (60.71%) and CA is more effective to detect complex karyotype. However, FISH had a higher overall abnormality detection rate (87.06%) than CA, especially for 13q-. The combination of CA and FISH not only enhanced the detection rate of clonal aberrations to 91.76%, but also provided more precise prognosis stratification for CLL patients, thus to provide more information for clinical implication.

LncRNA SNHG1 promotes cell progression and metastasis via sponging miR-377-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most famous fatal malignancies in the world. LncRNA SNHG1 has been shown to play roles in the development and progression of various tumors, including HCC. The present study aims to investigate the deeper molecular mechanisms of SNHG1 in HCC. The expression levels of SNHG1 and miR-377-3p were detected by qRT-PCR in HCC tissues and cells. MTT assay was used to examine cell proliferation. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by detecting the apoptotic rate and the protein level of C-caspase 3 using flow cytometry and western blot assays. The protein levels of EMT-related proteins (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and Vimentin) were measured by western blot. Cell migration and invasion were examined by transwell assay. Xenograft analysis was performed to explore the tumor growth in vivo. The binding sites of SNHG1 and miR-377-3p were predicted by the online software and confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay, and RNA pull-down assay. We found that SNHG1 was markedly upregulated in HCC tissues and cells. Knockdown of SNHG1 induced apoptosis and inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HCC cells. SNHG1 knockdown suppressed the tumor growth of HCC in vivo. SNHG1 directly bound to miR-377-3p. Knockdown of miR-377-3p attenuated the effect of SNHG1 knockdown on proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and EMT of HCC cells. In conclusion, SNHG1 inhibited apoptosis and induced proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT by sponging miR-377-3p in HCC, which indicated that SNHG1 may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC treatment.

[The humor characteristics of young epileptic patients and its correlation with depression]

Objective: To explore the characteristics of humor in young adult epileptic patients and examine the relationship between humor and depression. Methods: We recruited 55 young adult epileptic patients who visited outpatient clinic of the Department of Neurology of Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College between October 2018 and March 2019 and 44 healthy controls to complete the multidimensional humor scale (MSHS), humor style questionnaire (HSQ) and Beck depression scale-Ⅱ (BDI-Ⅱ), and compared their differences between the two groups. Results: The results showed that the young adult patients with epilepsy (PWEs) were affected in humor creation, coping with humor and the totally scores of MSHS. The scores of humor creation, coping with humor and the totally scores of MSHS in the young epilepsy patients were 25.3±5.9, 16.7±5.0 and 61±10, which were significantly lower than those in the control group 29.8±6.1, 21.1±2.6 and 71±8. As for the humor style, self-defeating humor scores in PWEs were higher than controls 14±5 vs 9±3, and the self-enhancing humor scores were lower than controls 18±7 vs 23±6. The scores of BDI-Ⅱ in PWEs were significantly higher than those of normal controls 13±7 vs 6±4. Pearson's correlation test showed that the scores of BDI-Ⅱ were negatively correlated with humor creation, coping with humor, the totally scores of MSHS and self-enhancing humor scores (r=-0.566--0.721, P<0.05), while it was positively correlated with self-defeating humor scores (r=0.818, P<0.05). Among the clinically relevant factors, the scores of BDI-Ⅱ were correlated with seizure control and gender. Multiple stepwise linear regression showed that coping with humor, self-defeating and self-enhancing humor scores were closely related with depression in young epileptic adults. Conclusion: The young adults with epilepsy are affected in sense of humor and humor style, which are closely related with depression.

Dynamic changes of interferon gamma release assay results with latent tuberculosis infection treatment

OBJECTIVES

Using QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) for monitoring tuberculosis (TB) and latent TB infection treatment effect is controversial. The present study aimed to evaluate the dynamic changes of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) levels along with latent TB infection treatment via a randomized controlled study.

METHODS

A total of 910 participants treated with 8 weeks of once-weekly rifapentine plus isoniazid (group A), 890 treated with 6 weeks of twice-weekly rifapentine plus isoniazid (group B) and 818 untreated controls (group C) were followed for 2 years to track active TB development. QFT-GIT tests were repeated three times for all groups: before treatment (T0), at completion of treatment (T1) and 3 months after completion of treatment (T2).

RESULTS

Similar rates of persistent QFT-GIT reversion were observed in groups A (19.0%, 173/910), B (18.5%, 165/890) and C (20.7%, 169/818) (p 0.512). The dynamic changes of IFN-γ levels were not statistically significant among the three groups. In treated participants, individuals with higher baseline IFN-γ levels showed increased TB occurrence (1.0%, 9/896) compared to those with lower baseline levels (0.2%, 2/904) (p 0.037). A similar but statistically insignificant trend was also observed in untreated controls (1.8% (7/400) vs. 0.5% (2/418), p 0.100). When TB cases were matched with non-TB cases on baseline IFN-γ levels, no significant differences were found with respect to the dynamic changes in IFN-γ levels with time, regardless of whether they received treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

QFT-GIT reversion or decreased IFN-γ levels should not be used for monitoring host response to latent TB infection treatment.

Modulation of inflammatory response and gut microbiota in ankylosing spondylitis mouse model by bioactive peptide IQW

AIMS

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a widespread and chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of unknown provenance. Naturally occurring peptides and proteins have shown significant promise as modulators of immune responses. Thus, the aims of this study were to assess the protective effects of the bioactive peptide IQW (Ile-Gln-Trp) with respect to inflammatory indicators, gut microbiota and oxidative stress, and to examine the potential mechanisms of these effects.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A mouse model was prepared by four injections of human proteoglycan extract (2 mg) in dimethyldioctadecylammonium solution (2 mg) over an interval of 2 weeks. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results for the markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in the AS mice revealed increased concentrations of malondialdehyde, IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α, along with decreased concentrations of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Treatment with IQW was found to decrease the concentrations of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α, and increase the concentrations of CAT, GSH-PX and SOD. Moreover the quantification of the microbiota via 16s rRNA sequencing revealed a reduced microbial diversity in the AS mice, while a significantly increased microbial diversity was displayed by those treated with IQW. Whereas, there was a significant reduction in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and an increased relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia in AS mice, this was reversed following the IQW treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrated that IQW exerts a beneficial influence in AS by delaying progression of the disease, reducing the arthritic grade of intervertebral joints, altering the concentrations of cytokines and modulating the microbial diversity and composition.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Oral IQW treatment might represent a new approach to mitigate the onset and development of AS.

[Mental health sataus and influencing factors of medical staff after blood-borne occupational exposure]

Objective: To explore the mental health status and influencing factors of medical staff after blood-borne occupational exposure, and to provide scientific basis for effective psychological intervention. Methods: From January 2017 to December 2018, 178 medical staff with blood-borne occupational exposure in three hospitals of Shandong Province were collected as the contact group, and 100 routine medical staff as the control group during the same period. Questionnaires were conducted among medical staff in the two groups, including general information questionnaire, symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90) , post-traumatic stress disorder self-rating scale (PCL-C) , coping style scale (CPS) , social support scale (SSRS) . The basic situation and mental health level of medical staff in the two groups, as well as the coping and social support status of medical staff exposed to hematogenous occupational exposure were analyzed. Relevant influencing factors. Results: The total score of SCL-90 was 1.66+0.33, 45 (38.14%) were positive, and 21 (21.00%) were positive in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (χ(2)=7.529, P<0.05) . Compared with the control group, the scores of SCL-90 somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoia and total scores of medical staff in the exposure group increased significantly (P<0.05) . The total PCL-C score of exposure group was 36.84+9.50, PTSD positive 47 (39.83%) and control group 13 (13.00%) . The difference was statistically significant (χ(2)=19.534, P<0.05) . Compared with the control group, PCL-C re-experience, avoidance, vigilance factor scores and total scores of medical staff in the contact group increased significantly (P<0.05) . The problem solving, help seeking and subjective support of the medical staff in the positive mental health group with blood-borne occupational exposure were significantly lower than those in the negative group, while self-blame, fantasy and withdrawal were significantly higher than those in the negative group (P<0.05) . The mental health level of medical staff with occupational exposure was negatively correlated with problem solving, help seeking and subjective support, and positively correlated with self-blame, fantasy and withdrawal (P<0.05) . Problem solving, help seeking and subjective support were protective factors of mental health (OR=2.121, 1.616, 1.371) , and self-blame and withdrawal were risk factors of mental health (OR=0.160, 0.484) . Conclusion: Medical personnel exposed to blood-borne occupational exposure are prone to psychological problems and PTSD. Solving problems, seeking help and subjective support are protective factors for mental health, while self-blame and withdrawal are risk factors for mental health.

Gene therapy-emulating small molecule treatments in cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells and patients

Background

Several small molecule corrector and potentiator drugs have recently been licensed for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) therapy. However, other aspects of the disease, especially inflammation, are less effectively treated by these drugs. We hypothesized that small molecule drugs could function either alone or as an adjuvant to licensed therapies to treat these aspects of the disease, perhaps emulating the effects of gene therapy in CF cells. The cardiac glycoside digitoxin, which has been shown to inhibit TNFα/NFκB signaling in CF lung epithelial cells, may serve as such a therapy.

Methods

IB3–1 CF lung epithelial cells were treated with different Vertex (VX) drugs, digitoxin, and various drug mixtures, and ELISA assays were used to assess suppression of baseline and TNFα-activated secretion of cytokines and chemokines. Transcriptional responses to these drugs were assessed by RNA-seq and compared with gene expression in AAV-[wildtype]CFTR-treated IB3–1 (S9) cells. We also compared in vitro gene expression signatures with in vivo data from biopsied nasal epithelial cells from digitoxin-treated CF patients.

Results

CF cells exposed to digitoxin exhibited significant suppression of both TNFα/NFκB signaling and downstream secretion of IL-8, IL-6 and GM-CSF, with or without co-treatment with VX drugs. No evidence of drug-drug interference was observed. RNA-seq analysis showed that gene therapy-treated CF lung cells induced changes in 3134 genes. Among these, 32.6% were altered by digitoxin treatment in the same direction. Shared functional gene ontology themes for genes suppressed by both digitoxin and gene therapy included inflammation (84 gene signature), and cell-cell interactions and fibrosis (49 gene signature), while genes elevated by both were enriched for epithelial differentiation (82 gene signature). A new analysis of mRNA data from digitoxin-treated CF patients showed consistent trends in expression for genes in these signatures.

Conclusions

Adjuvant gene therapy-emulating activities of digitoxin may contribute to enhancing the efficacy of currently licensed correctors and potentiators in CF patients.

Are left ventricular muscle area and radiation attenuation associated with overall survival in advanced pancreatic cancer patients treated with chemotherapy?

AIM

To evaluate whether cardiac muscle area and radiation attenuation, determined using pre-chemotherapy computed tomography (CT), are associated with therapeutic response and overall survival (OS) in chemotherapy-treated advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ninety-eight chemotherapy-treated APC patients who underwent pre-chemotherapy CT between 2009 and 2018 were considered. Left ventricular muscle area (LVMA) and left ventricular muscle radiation attenuation (LVMRA) were measured using pre-chemotherapy arterial-phase CT. OS and progression-free survival (PFS) were analysed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to analyse potential factors affecting OS and PFS.

RESULTS

Patients with low LVMRA, low LVMA at baseline CT, and multiple metastases had a significantly shorter median OS than patients with high LVMRA, high LVMA, and without multiple metastases (8.8 versus 14 months, p=0.017; 12.2 versus 18.1 months, p=0.038; 7.3 versus 13.5 months, p<0.001, respectively). Patients with low LVMRA and distant metastasis had a shorter median PFS than patients with high LVMRA and those without distant metastasis (4.9 versus 8.3 months, p=0.032; 5.4 versus 9.9 months, p=0.002, respectively). Moreover, the mean LVMRA was the highest in the partial response group (p=0.028).

CONCLUSION

LVMRA could well predict PFS and OS in chemotherapy-treated APC patients.

[Comparison of the permeability between the rabbit cornea and sclera ex vivo]

Objective: Comparison of the permeability between the rabbit cornea and sclera ex vivo by determining the concentration of gatifloxacin using LC-MS/MS method, which may provide the basis for a new route of drug administration. Methods: Experimental study. The permeability of the cornea and sclera in healthy male New Zealand rabbits was evaluated by using Franz diffusion pool. We chose both gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution and gel as the test drugs, and calculated the cumulative permeation amounts (Qn), apparent permeability coefficient(P(app)). Results: The linear range of gatifloxacin was 5-1 000 ng/ml. The intra-day and inter-day precision was 1.7% -2.8% and 1.0% - 2.3%. Q(n) and P(app) of gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution in cornea and sclera ex vivo were 177.57, 517.52 μg/cm(2) and 4.34, 12.51 cm/s respectively, whereas that of gatifloxacin ophthalmic gel were 151.87, 411.05 μg/cm(2) and 3.66, 9.21 cm/s. Conclusion: This validated method could be applied to determine the gatifloxacin. The cumulative permeation amounts and apparent permeability coefficient of sclera are significantly higher than that of cornea for both ophthalmic solution and gel, suggesting that the development of a new route of drug administration based on sclera may have potential advantage. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2019, 55: 928-932).

Improving national surveillance of new HIV diagnoses

The purpose of national HIV surveillance is to track and summarize trends in newly diagnosed cases as an indicator of HIV transmission within Canada, and supports the development and evaluation of programs and policies for prevention, testing and delivery of care. Accurately capturing and interpreting trends in HIV diagnoses within national surveillance becomes complicated when there is movement of people within a country or when individuals are diagnosed with HIV prior to migrating to a new country. This has been identified as an issue in other countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recently assessed this in Canada after noting a rise in new HIV cases in Canada between 2014 to 2017. An environmental scan was conducted to better understand how new and previously diagnosed cases of HIV were recorded by and reported to PHAC from provincial and territorial (PT) public health authorities. It was discovered there was variation with respect to the reporting of cases who had received a new diagnosis of HIV within the province or territory, but who had previously received an HIV diagnosis from another PT or another country. Five PTs included cases previously diagnosed in another Canadian PT within the HIV surveillance data reported to PHAC and nine PTs included people who were diagnosed with HIV outside of Canada. The provincial and territorial public health authorities then reviewed HIV surveillance data from 2007 to 2017 to identify cases using a common definition of "previous HIV-positive test result". This included any case who gave a history, or had laboratory evidence, of an HIV-positive result from another PT or another country before presenting for care in the province or territory where they now resided. When these cases were subtracted from the total, a revised number of new HIV diagnoses was calculated for Canada. Re-analysis of surveillance data using this common definition for 2007 to 2017 explained more than half of the increase in HIV cases that had been documented in Canada over the last four years. In the future, national surveillance data will be calculated adopting this new common definition of a previous positive test result, in order to more accurately describe the trends in HIV transmission occurring in Canada.

[Clinical and neuroimaging features in 6 patients with corticobasal syndrome]

The clinical and imaging data in 6 patients with corticobasal syndrome were retrospectively analyzed. Six patients presented asymmetric clinical symptoms, including 5 with cognitive impairment, 6 with emotional disorders, 2 with cortical sensory deficit, 5 with lalopathy, and 4 with apraxia. All patients developed limb dystonia and limb or trunk stiffness, 4 with tumble, 4 with bradykinesia, and 2 with tremor. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that 4 patients had unilateral cerebral atrophy and 2 had mild atrophy of bilateral hippocampus. Localized low glucose metabolism in the unilateral cerebral lobe was seen in four patients by positron emission computed tomography (PET) examination, suggesting that PET is helpful for the diagnosis of corticobasal syndrome.

Determination of Glucosamine in Raw Materials and Dietary Supplements Containing Glucosamine Sulfate and/or Glucosamine Hydrochloride by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with FMOC-Su Derivatization: Collaborative Study

A collaborative study was conducted for determination of glucosamine in raw materials and dietary supplements containing glucosamine sulfate and/or glucosamine hydrochloride by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with N-(9-fluorenyl-methoxycarbonyloxy) succinimide (FMOC-Su) derivatization. Thirteen blind materials, one pair of which were duplicates, were tested by 12 collaborating laboratories. The test samples consisted of various commercial products, including tablets, capsules, drink mix, and liquids as well as raw materials, blanks, and those for spike recovery analyses. The tests with blank products and products spiked with glucosamine showed good specificity of the method. The average recoveries at spike levels of 100 and 150% of the declared amount were 99.0% with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.1%, and 101% with an RSD of 2.3%, respectively. The test results between laboratories on each commercial product were reproducible with RSD values of no more than 4.0%, and the results were repeatable in the same laboratory with an average RSD of 0.7%. HorRat values ranged from 0.5 to 1.7 on both tests of spike recovery and reproducibility between laboratories on commercial products. The average determination coefficient of the calibration curves from the laboratories was 0.9995 with an RSD of 0.03%. All of the 12 collaborating laboratories succeeded in the study and none of their reported test results were outliers, partly indicating the robustness of the method. It is recommended that the method be accepted by AOAC INTERNATIONAL as Official First Action.

LPS at low concentration promotes the fracture healing through regulating the autophagy of osteoblasts via NF-κB signal pathway

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of low-concentration lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on proliferation and apoptosis of osteoblasts and to discover the mechanism of low-concentration LPS in facilitating the proliferation of osteoblasts.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts were treated with LPS, 3-methyladenine (3-MA, autophagy inhibitor), and BAY11-7082 (inhibitor of nuclear factor-kappa b, NF-κB), respectively. The cell cycles were detected using a flow cytometer. Cell proliferation and activity of MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts were explored by cell counting kit-8. Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay were performed to detect the protein level. RNA expression was measured through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunofluorescence assay.

RESULTS

At the third day after cell culture, cell infusion reached 80%, and cells were taken as the subjects. At 6 h after treatment with low-concentration LPS, the proliferation and activity of cells were higher than those at 1 h and 12 h after treatment, and the apoptotic level was significantly lower than that in cells at 12 h after treatment. The proliferation and activity of cells in the low-concentration LPS group were significantly higher than those in the control group, 3-MA group and BAY11-7082 group, and the apoptotic level was lower than those in these groups. Compared with those of cells in control group and BAY11-7082 group, the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expressions and nuclear transfer of cells in low-concentration LPS group were significantly elevated, but there were no statistically significant differences in comparisons with the 3-MA group. In the experiment of cell autophagy, the autophagic level in cells in low-concentration LPS group was higher than those in the control group, 3-MA group and BAY11-7082 group.

CONCLUSIONS

Through the NF-κB signaling pathway in osteoblasts, low-concentration LPS can activate the autophagy and promote cell proliferation, thereby inhibiting cell apoptosis and accelerating the fracture healing.

Liraglutide improves myocardial fibrosis after myocardial infarction through inhibition of CTGF by activating cAMP in mice

OBJECTIVE

To study the role and mechanism of liraglutide in myocardial fibrosis after myocardial infarction (MI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 72 C57/BL male mice were randomly divided into sham operation group (Sham group), myocardial infarction group (MI group), and liraglutide intervention group (Lira group). The left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) of the mice in MI group and Lira group was ligated to establish the MI model. One week after the operation, the mice in Lira group were intraperitoneally injected with 100 μg/kg of liraglutide once a day for 4 weeks. The mice in Sham group and MI group were injected with the equal volume of normal saline. At the 5th week after the operation, the cardiac morphologic indexes and cardiac function indexes were measured by echocardiography. After an ultrasound, the heart specimens of the mice were immediately harvested by thoracotomy, and histomorphological hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, collagen fiber Masson staining, and immunohistochemical staining were performed. The infarction zone and the non-infarction zone were isolated from another heart specimen; the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and hydroxyproline content were determined; and the expression levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) were detected by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting.

RESULTS

Liraglutide improved the cardiac function of mice after myocardial infarction. Liraglutide improved the myocardial fibrosis in mice after myocardial infarction. Liraglutide increased cAMP in myocardial cells of mice after myocardial infarction. Liraglutide did not change the TGF-β1 expressions while reduced the CTGF expressions in infarct and non-infarct area of mice after myocardial infarction.

CONCLUSIONS

Liraglutide, through increasing the level of cAMP, could decrease the deposition of collagen fibers in myocardial tissues of mice after MI, reduce the degree of infiltration of collagen fibers in the infarction zone into the myocardium in the non-infarction zone and inhibit the adverse ventricular remodeling in the non-infarction zone, thus improving the cardiac function after MI.

First Observation of the Directed Flow of D^{0} and D^{0}[over ¯] in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

We report the first measurement of rapidity-odd directed flow (v_{1}) for D^{0} and D^{0}[over ¯] mesons at midrapidity (|y|<0.8) in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV using the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. In 10-80% Au+Au collisions, the slope of the v_{1} rapidity dependence (dv_{1}/dy), averaged over D^{0} and D^{0}[over ¯] mesons, is -0.080±0.017(stat)±0.016(syst) for transverse momentum p_{T} above 1.5  GeV/c. The absolute value of D^{0} meson dv_{1}/dy is about 25 times larger than that for charged kaons, with 3.4σ significance. These data give a unique insight into the initial tilt of the produced matter, and offer constraints on the geometric and transport parameters of the hot QCD medium created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

Verification and Validation of SuperMC3.2 Using VENUS-3 Benchmark Experiments

Methodological processes for nuclear power plant (NPP) pressure vessels' (PV) neutron fluence rate determination take the form of experimental measurement or theoretical calculations. However, the process of experimental measurement takes longer periods, as it requires the incorporation of surveillance capsules into a PV system undergoing normal NPP operation. Therefore, strong reliance on computation and modeling of radiation-induced degradation is given much attention. In this work, the VENUS-3 benchmark has been analyzed using SuperMC code, with the intention of validating SuperMC for accurate reactor neutronics; dosimetry response calculations for in-core/ex-core structural components, particularly with respect to the VENUS-3 configuration type pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In this work, complete three-dimensional (3D) geometry including the source modeling for VENUS-3 facility has been developed with SuperMC. Neutron transport and calculations of equivalent fission flux for the experimental target quantities, 115In (n, n′), 58Ni (n, p), and 27Al (n, α), are also achieved. The calculation results show good agreement with the experimental measurement. The greater majority of the calculated values (C/E) were within the required accuracy of ±10% for reactor components' dosimetry calculations. Most of the calculated values were contained within 5% deviation from the experimental data. Additional calculations and detailed analysis for fast neutron flux distribution and iron displacement per atom rate (dpa/s), including the characteristic effect of partial length shielded assembly (PLSA) on VENUS-3 core barrel, are also discussed. It is therefore evidenced that the effectiveness of SuperMC code for in-core/ex-core reactor neutronics computations has been convincingly demonstrated through the VENUS-3 benchmark testing.

Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: MR Black-Blood Thrombus Imaging with Enhanced Blood Signal Suppression

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The residual blood flow artifact is a critical confounder for MR black-blood thrombus imaging of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. This study aimed to conduct a validation of a new MR black-blood thrombus imaging technique with enhanced blood signal suppression.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-six participants (13 volunteers and 13 patients) underwent conventional imaging methods followed by 2 randomized black-blood thrombus imaging scans, with a preoptimized delay alternating with nutation for tailored excitation (DANTE) preparation switched on and off, respectively. The signal intensity of residual blood, thrombus, brain parenchyma, normal lumen, and noise on black-blood thrombus images were measured. The thrombus volume, SNR of residual blood, and contrast-to-noise ratio for residual blood versus normal lumen, thrombus versus residual blood, and brain parenchyma versus normal lumen were compared between the 2 black-blood thrombus imaging techniques. Segmental diagnosis of venous sinus thrombosis was evaluated for each black-blood thrombus imaging technique using a combination of conventional imaging techniques as a reference.

RESULTS

In the volunteer group, the SNR of residual blood (11.3 ± 2.9 versus 54.0 ± 23.4, P < .001) and residual blood-to-normal lumen contrast-to-noise ratio (7.5 ± 3.4 versus 49.2 ± 23.3, P < .001) were significantly reduced using the DANTE preparation. In the patient group, the SNR of residual blood (16.4 ± 8.0 versus 75.0 ± 35.1, P = .002) and residual blood-to-normal lumen contrast-to-noise ratio (12.4 ± 7.8 versus 68.8 ± 35.4, P = .002) were also significantly lower on DANTE-prepared black-blood thrombus imaging. The new black-blood thrombus imaging technique provided higher thrombus-to-residual blood contrast-to-noise ratio, significantly lower thrombus volume, and substantially improved diagnostic specificity and agreement with conventional imaging methods.

CONCLUSIONS

DANTE-prepared black-blood thrombus imaging is a reliable MR imaging technique for diagnosing cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

P1530Vasorelaxation as a mechanism of procyanidin B2 cardioprotective effect

Introduction

Findings from epidemiological studies indicate that polyphenols, widespread in human diet and with numerous biological activities, act cardioprotectively. Procyanidins are subclass of polyphenols with high content in commonly consumed foods and beverages, such as grapes, tea, chocolate, nuts and apples. Cardioprotective abilities of procyanidins, might, at least in part, attribute to their vasodilator properties.

Purpose

Because the exact mechanisms by which procyanidin B2 causes vasorelaxation are unclear, we aimed to investigate relaxant effect of procyanidin B2 on the isolated human internal mammary artery (HIMA) and its underlying mechanisms.

Methods

The HIMA segments were collected from patients suffering from coronary artery disease who were undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery and studied in organ bath.

Results

Procyanidin B2 induced strong concentration-dependent relaxation of HIMA rings pre-contracted by phenylephrine. Pretreatment with L-NAME, a NO synthase inhibitor, hydroxocobalamin, a NO scavenger, and ODQ, an inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase, significantly inhibited procyanidin B2-induced relaxation of HIMA, while indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, considerably reduced effects of low concentrations. Among K+ channel blockers, iberiotoxin, a selective blocker of large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (BKCa), abolished procyanidin B2-induced relaxation, glibenclamide, a selective ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel blocker, induced partial inhibition, while 4-aminopyridine, a blocker of voltage-gated K+ (KV) channels, and TRAM-34, an inhibitor of intermediate-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (IKCa) channels, slightly reduced maximal relaxation of HIMA.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that, in HIMA, procyanidin B2 produces strong endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant effect. It seems that this relaxation is primarily the result of an increased NO synthesis and secretion by endothelial cells and partially of prostacyclin, although it involves activation of BKCa and KATP, as well as KV and IKCa channels in high concentrations of procyanidin B2.

Acknowledgement/Funding

The study was supported by a Scientific Research Grant (P175088) from Ministry of Science and Technology Serbia.

Polarization of Λ (Λ[over ¯]) Hyperons along the Beam Direction in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

The Λ (Λ[over ¯]) hyperon polarization along the beam direction has been measured in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV, for the first time in heavy-ion collisions. The polarization dependence on the hyperons' emission angle relative to the elliptic flow plane exhibits a second harmonic sine modulation, indicating a quadrupole pattern of the vorticity component along the beam direction, expected due to elliptic flow. The polarization is found to increase in more peripheral collisions, and shows no strong transverse momentum (p_{T}) dependence at p_{T} greater than 1  GeV/c. The magnitude of the signal is about 5 times smaller than those predicted by hydrodynamic and multiphase transport models; the observed phase of the emission angle dependence is also opposite to these model predictions. In contrast, the kinematic vorticity calculations in the blast-wave model tuned to reproduce particle spectra, elliptic flow, and the azimuthal dependence of the Gaussian source radii measured with the Hanbury Brown-Twiss intensity interferometry technique reproduce well the modulation phase measured in the data and capture the centrality and transverse momentum dependence of the polarization signal.

Observation of Excess J/ψ Yield at Very Low Transverse Momenta in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV and U+U Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=193 GeV

We report on the first measurements of J/ψ production at very low transverse momentum (p_{T}<0.2  GeV/c) in hadronic Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV and U+U collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=193  GeV. Remarkably, the inferred nuclear modification factor of J/ψ at midrapidity in Au+Au (U+U) collisions reaches about 24 (52) for p_{T}<0.05  GeV/c in the 60%-80% collision centrality class. This noteworthy enhancement cannot be explained by hadronic production accompanied by cold and hot medium effects. In addition, the dN/dt distribution of J/ψ for the very low p_{T} range is presented for the first time. The distribution is consistent with that expected from the Au nucleus and shows a hint of interference. Comparison of the measurements to theoretical calculations of coherent production shows that the excess yield can be described reasonably well and reveals a partial disruption of coherent production in semicentral collisions, perhaps due to the violent hadronic interactions. Incorporating theoretical calculations, the results strongly suggest that the dramatic enhancement of J/ψ yield observed at extremely low p_{T} originates from coherent photon-nucleus interactions. In particular, coherently produced J/ψ's in violent hadronic collisions may provide a novel probe of the quark-gluon plasma.

P03.09 Real world management and prognosis of glioma patients:SYSUCC report from China

Background: The conventional way of patient treatment should be following guidelines. While in clinical practice, patients received treatments very often away from suggested guideline. In this report, we reviewed glioma patients received real world treatment at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) and results of this patient series.

Methods: Total of 1215 glioma patients received surgery at SYSUCC from 2000 to 2017 were enclosed for analysis. The pathologic diagnosis of patients has followed WHO classification (initially 2007 standard, than 2016 standard).

Results: A total of 1001 newly diagnosed brain glioma patients were analyzed, including 90 cases WHO grade I, 307 grade II, 239 grade III and 365 grade IV. The median age of onset was 14 (1–75), 35 (2–69), 41 (8–82) and 50 (2–86) years old, respectively, for grade I, II, III and IV glioma patients. Tumor total resection was achieved in 567 patients (57.5%). Among all patients, 331 high-grade gliomas (54.8%) and 159 low-grade glioma (40.1%) received radiotherapy, whereas 285 high-grade gliomas (47.1%) and 80 low-grade tumors (20.2%) received chemotherapy. Among high-grade gliomas, the median OS of glioblastoma, anaplastic astrocytoma and anaplastic oligodendroglial tumors were 17.7 months (15.7–19.7 months), 33.7 months (24.0–43.4 months) and 110.6 months (43.5–177.7 months), respectively, whereas the median OS of low-grade gliomas was not reach. The 5-year survival rate of grade I, II, III and IV gliomas was 94.7%, 73.7%, 45.1% and 18.6%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified that onset age, Karnofsky performance status, tumor location, preoperative seizure, pathological subtype, resection extent and post-surgical treatment were independent predictors of OS for patients with high-grade gliomas. Patients received post-surgical radiotherapy and (or) chemotherapy had better survival than those without adjuvant treatment (grade III: 53.3 vs. 20.6 months, p =0.012; grade IV: 22.9 vs. 12.3 months, p < 0.001). For low-grade gliomas, patients’ age, Ki-67 index, tumor subtype and resection extent were associated with clinical outcomes.

Conclusions: Glioma patients received treatments do not always following guidelines in clinical practice. Although standard care for patients may beneficial for prognosis, personalized treatment may more acceptable for patients and even resulting better outcome which should keep in mind in routine clinical practice.

Effects of seminal plasma concentration on sperm motility and plasma and acrosome membrane integrity in chilled canine spermatozoa

Depending on the mammal species, the use of seminal plasma during semen processing for cryopreservation has been found to have both beneficial and detrimental effects. This study was designed to determine the effects of seminal plasma concentration on the motility, sperm movement characteristics, and plasma and acrosome membrane integrity of chilled canine spermatozoa. After pooling the semen from seven dogs, samples for each assay were preserved at 4oC for 96h in extenders containing different seminal plasma concentrations (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% (v/v) seminal plasma). After 96h cold storage, group 25% (v/v) seminal plasma showed significantly higher percentages of sperm cells with motility [46.4 ± 1.65% (p<0.05)], intact plasma membrane [46.5 ± 3.11% (p<0.05)] and intact acrosome[58.5 ± 1.86 % (p<0.05)] than other groups. In conclusion, supplementing semen extender with an appropriate seminal plasma concentration (25% (v/v) seminal plasma) is able to adequately preserve the sperm motility, integrity of the plasma and acrosome membrane in canine spermatozoa chilled at 4oC.

[The efficacy and safety of different antimicrobial regimens in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infections]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of different antimicrobial regimens in patients with bloodstream infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP). Methods: The clinical date of patients with CRKP bloodstream infections were retrospectively analyzed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical College between January 2017 and January 2018. All subjects were separated into three groups based on antibiotics regimens over 72 hours, including meropenem 2.0 g every 8 hours, tigecycline 200 mg as initial dose and 100 mg every 12 hours, and polymyxin B 1.25 mg/kg every 12 hours as salvage treatment of tigecycline. Results: A total of 86 patients were finally recruited, including 14, 52 and 20 patients in groups of meropenem, tigecycline and polymyxin B salvage, respectively. All of the strains were resistant to meropenem and susceptible to tigecycline and polymyxin B initially, while 2 of them became resistant to tigecycline during treatment. The 28-day mortality was significantly higher in meropenem group (13/14) than that in tigecycline group and polymyxin B salvage group (61.5%, 32/52) and (12/20), respectively (P<0.01), while as no significant difference was seen in the last two groups (χ(2)=0.014, P>0.05). The incidences of hepatic impairment [3.8%(2/52) vs. 1/20] and renal dysfunction (0 vs. 1/20) between tigecycline group and polymyxin B salvage group were both comparable (P>0.05). Conclusion: The meropenem-based therapy is not recommended for CRKP-related bloodstream infections. Tigecycline-based therapy is still disappointing despite salvage use of polymyxin B after 72 hours. Hepatic and nephretic toxicities caused by additional polymyxin B are acceptable.

Nuclear receptor hormone receptor 39 is required for locust moulting by regulating the chitinase and carboxypeptidase genes

The nuclear receptor-mediated 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) signalling pathway plays crucial roles in insects by initiating and regulating moulting and metamorphosis. In the present study, we identified and characterized a cDNA encoding a putative nuclear receptor protein (Locusta migratoria hormone receptor 39, LmHR39) based on L. migratoria transcriptomics data. Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) revealed that LmHR39 shows low-level expression in the early days of fifth-instar nymphs, and peak expression occurs on day 5, which is followed by a decrease before ecdysis. LmHR39 transcription could be induced by 20E in vivo and was significantly suppressed by knocking down the expression of the L. migratoria ecdysone receptor gene and early-late gene LmHR3. After RNA interference of LmHR39 with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), 85% of the insects showed abnormal morphology, with curly wings after moulting and delayed eclosion time. Haematoxylin and eosin staining indicated that apolysis of the integument and wing pad cuticle in the dsLmHR39-treated insects was delayed compared to that in the dsRNA for green fluorescent protein-injected control. Furthermore, RNA-sequencing and RT-qPCR analysis showed the expression level of carboxypeptidase genes (Carboxypeptidase A (CPA) and Carboxypeptidase M (CPM)) and chitin degrading genes (LmChitinase5 (LmCHT5) and LmChitinase10 (LmCHT10)) dramatically declined in the dsLmHR39-treated insects, implying that the LmHR39-mediated 20E signalling pathway is involved in the regulation of carboxypeptidase genes (CPA and CPM) and chitinase genes (LmCHT5 and LmCHT10), and participated in apolysis of the integument and wing pads during locust moulting.

[Efficacy and safety of active transfer of plaque versus provisional stenting with drug-eluting stents for the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions]

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of active transfer of plaque (ATP) versus provisional stenting (PS) with drug-eluting stents (DES) for the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions. Methods: A total of 1 136 patients with bifurcation lesions hospitalized in 6 selected hospitals between January 2010 and January 2014 were included in this prospective observational trial, patients were divided into either ATP (n=560) or PS group (n=576) accordingly. The primary endpoint was target lesion revascularization within 1 year, and the second endpoints were all-cause death, cardiogenic death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, stroke, recurrent angina within 1 year. Results: There were no significant differences in age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and smoking history between the two groups (P>0.05). The incidence of TIMI blood flow <3 grade in the side branch (1.6%(9/560) vs. 7.5% (43/576), P<0.01), acute occlusion of the side branch (1.3%(7/560) vs. 7.1%(41/576), P<0.01) and implanted stents of side branch (1.8%(10/560) vs. 7.8% (45/576), P<0.01) were significantly lower in the ATP group than those in the PS group. During the one year follow up, the rate of target lesion revascularization was similar between ATP group and PS group (4.6%(26/560) vs. 4.0%(23/576), P=0.66). Conclusions: The effectiveness and safetyof ATP techniquein the patients with coronary bifurcation lesions is comparable to the PS technique. However, ATP technique is superior to PS technique on effectively reducing the incidence of implanted stents in the side branch.

Energy-induced mercury emissions in global supply chain networks: Structural characteristics and policy implications

Mercury emission flows in the global supply chains have evolved into an ever-increasing complex network. However, the underlying structural features remain unknown. Therefore, the global embodied mercury flow network was constructed to reveal the characteristics of energy-induced mercury emissions embodied in international trade at both national and sectoral scales. The small-world nature of the global mercury flows network was identified at both scales. Results showed that the global mercury flow network can be divided into 4 national communities, within which the spillover effects of the interventions in one region spread more easily. Detecting the mercury-intensive supply-chain clusters highlights the importance of monitoring these clusters that dominate mercury emissions in global supply chains, which could offer insights on where policy can be implemented effectively. Moreover, vital regions (e.g., mainland China, the USA, and Germany) and sectors (e.g., Petroleum, Chemical and Non-Metallic Mineral Products, Metal Products and Electrical and Machinery in mainland China) for global mercury control have been unveiled by using an integrated centrality measurement system. Our results highlight that, for the overall mercury reduction, regional and even global collaboration should be enhanced along with efforts in individual regions, and enterprises in these important sectors should invest more to green their cluster-wise supply chains.

Erythropoietin Protects Retina Against Ceramide 2-Induced Damage in Rat

BACKGROUND

Ceramide plays critical roles in cell proliferation, senescence and apoptosis, and is implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, etc. To clarify if ceramide plays some roles in retinal diseases, we established in vivo and in vitro retinal injury models with ceramide 2 (C2) treatment. In addition, Erythropoietin (EPO), which showed protective effects on retinal cells and blood-retinal barrier (BRB), was also tested for its protection and possible mechanism(s) in these models.

METHODS

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups, i.e., normal control, vehicle control, C2 treatment, and C2+EPO treatment. After intravitreal injection, the rats were examined for eye fundus, electroretinogram, histological study, and immunostaining, etc. In vitro, retinal neuronal cell line (R28) and the primary human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) were treated with C2, cell viability assay, transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and BRB-related molecules were studied to test the protective effect of EPO.

RESULTS

Intravitreal C2-treatment caused significant vision loss in rats, as reflected by reduced b-wave amplitude, increased TUNEL positive cells and GFAP immunostaining in retina. Another major retinal injury observed was BRB breakdown following C2- treatment. Such C2-induced injuries were further confirmed by in vitro study. When HRMECs were treated with C2, the TEER was significantly reduced. The mechanisms for C2 to induce such injuries might be through evidently increased expressions of the related molecules like plasmalemma vesicle-associated protein (PLVAP or PV-1), ecto- 5'-nucleotidase (CD73) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), as observed in C2-treated R28 cells. All these injuries induced by C2 were significantly prevented by EPO both in vivo and in vitro, and its protective mechanisms here might be, in addition to neuroprotective, closely related to its maintenance of BRB integrity, through reducing the expressions of PV-1, CD73 and ICAM-1.

CONCLUSION

C2 could induce severe retinal injury, and such injuries could be effectively prevented by EPO treatment.

[Follow-up of people living with HIV/AIDS by primary health care institutions in rural area of Jiangxi province]

Objective: To understand the current status of follow up of people living with HIV/AIDS by health service at grass root in rural area of Jiangxi province and related factors, and provide references for the promotion of the follow up by grass root health service. Methods: People living HIV/AIDS aged ≥18 years and diagnosed before 31 December 2017 in 6 townships of Xinjian, Yushan counties and Guixi city were included in the study in Jiangxi province. They had been followed up for more than one time after the first epidemiologic survey. The information about their demographic characteristics and HIV infection status were collected by using self-designed questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the factors that influencing the acceptance of follow up by grass root health service. Results: Of the 373 surveyed HIV infected subjects aged (53.06±16.15) years, 261 were males (70.0%, 261/373). Among the surveyed subjects, the illiteracy and people who received only primary school education accounted for 54.7% (204/373). The rate of follow up of the HIV infected subjects by grass root health service was 55.8% (208/373), and those through heterosexual contact were 58.5% (190/325). The multivariate regression analysis showed that the acceptance of follow up by grass root health service was higher in those who were farmers (OR=7.36, 95%CI: 2.52-21.45), had family support (OR=16.01, 95%CI: 2.25-49.73), didn't worry about discrimination (OR=12.97, 95%CI: 4.75-35.42), trusted health care provider (OR=5.07, 95%CI: 2.19-11.76) and showed AIDS symptoms (OR=10.58, 95%CI: 2.25- 49.73). Conclusions: The performance of follow up of people living with HIV/AIDS by grass root health service was well, suggesting it is a feasible management model. Being famer or not, family member supporting or not, worry about discrimination or not, trusting health care provider or not and showing AIDS symptoms or not were the main factors influencing the acceptance of follow up by grass root health service.

Azimuthal Harmonics in Small and Large Collision Systems at RHIC Top Energies

The first (v_{1}^{fluc}), second (v_{2}), and third (v_{3}) harmonic coefficients of the azimuthal particle distribution at midrapidity are extracted for charged hadrons and studied as a function of transverse momentum (p_{T}) and mean charged particle multiplicity density ⟨N_{ch}⟩ in U+U (sqrt[s_{NN}]=193  GeV), Au+Au, Cu+Au, Cu+Cu, d+Au, and p+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV with the STAR detector. For the same ⟨N_{ch}⟩, the v_{1}^{fluc} and v_{3} coefficients are observed to be independent of the collision system, while v_{2} exhibits such a scaling only when normalized by the initial-state eccentricity (ϵ_{2}). The data also show that ln(v_{2}/ϵ_{2}) scales linearly with ⟨N_{ch}⟩^{-1/3}. These measurements provide insight into initial-geometry fluctuations and the role of viscous hydrodynamic attenuation on v_{n} from small to large collision systems.

[Temporal bone anatomy via transcanal endoscopy]

Based on anatomy and clinical operation, this article discussed the anatomical structure of temporal bone and its contiguous relationship under oto-endoscope, through two approaches: the natural external auditory canal and the enlarged external auditory canal. To give an account of the anatomical characteristics of temporal bone under oto-endoscope.

[Evaluation of the safety and effect of the endoscopic stapes surgery: a multi-center study]

Objective: To analyze the safety of endoscopic stapes surgery, and to compare the results with stapes surgery under microscopic approach. Methods: This was a retrospective study. One hundred and thirty seven patients from Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University and other seven hospitals were enrolled in this study. Eighty eight patients, in whom 29 were male, and 59 were female, aged from 29 to 66 years old, with an average of 40.1±10.7, underwent endoscopic stapedotomy and 49 patients, in whom 17 were male, and 33 were female, aged from 32 to 64 yeas old, with an arerage of 38.7±9.2, underwent microscopic stapedotomy for otosclerosis. Interventions included endoscopic and microscopic stapes surgeries. Main outcome measures consisted of operating time, preoperative and postoperative hearing, intraoperative findings, and postoperative complications. SPSS 16.0 software was used to analyzed the date (t test and χ(2) test) . Results: Patients in the group who underwent endoscopic stapes surgery showed a mean operative time of (74.1±26.0) min. Patients in the group treated by microscopic approach had a mean operative time (66.5±15.9) min. Statistical difference was evident (t=1.279, P<0.05) . The average operative time of endoscopic surgery became shorter as the cases increased. The average duration of the last 10 cases was shorter than that of the first 10 cases in both groups. The differences were significant (t value was 3.028, 3.610, both P<0.05). No statistical difference was found in air conduction threshold improvement (t=1.074, P=0.289) , air-bone gap closure (t=-0.135, P=0.893) and bone conduction improvement (t=1.222, P=0.228) between the two groups. No difference regarding the incidence of the postoperative complications (chorda tympanum damage: 6 cases vs 2 cases, χ(2)=0.08,P>0.05; vertigo:18 cases vs 9 cases,χ(2)=0.09, P>0.05; facial paralysis: 0 case vs 0 case) between the two groups was found. Conclusion: Audiological outcomes achieved by endoscopic surgery are similar to the results obtained through a microscopic approach. Endoscopic stapes surgery is safe.

A microRNA expression signature as a predictor of survival for colon adenocarcinoma

Colon cancer is a major cause of cancer mortality worldwide and most colon cancers are adenocarcinoma. MicroRNA (miRNA) expression signature has been shown to be able to predict progression and prognosis of various cancers. The aim of our study was to explore a novel signature of microRNA expression for predicting survival of colon adenocarcinoma patients. By analyzing the miRNA expression profiles and clinical information of 329 colon adenocarcinoma patients derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. 129 miRNAs were identified to be expressed differentially between the cancer and adjacent tissues. Among them, 27 miRNAs were found to be associated with the corresponding clinical characteristics of the patients. Furthermore, 7 miRNAs (let-7a-2, mir-32, mir-181a-1, mir-197, mir-328, mir-505 and mir-652) were found to be significantly correlated with the patient survival. The risk established by the 7-miRNA signature we built was proved be an independent prognostic factor (Hazard ratio [HR] = 2.048; 95% CI = 1.144-3.664; p, 0.016). In summary, our study identified miRNAs correlated with progression and prognosis of colon adenocarcinoma and built a 7-microRNA expression signature for prediction of the survival of the patients with colon adenocarcinoma.

[Progress in middle ear dysventilation research]

Disfunction of Eustachian tube will cause negative pressure of middle ear, which may result in tympanic membrane retraction pocket. Severe pocket can consequently cause cholesteatoma. In clinical practice it is not uncommon to find a cholesteatoma limited to epitympanum, with an otherwise normal pars tensa and mesotympanum. This review explains the theory of "selective epitympanic dysventilation syndrome" developed by endoscopic technique. In the majority of the patients, the only ventilation pathway to the epitympanum is through the tympanic isthmus. Even if Eustachian tube function has recovered, an isthmus blockage with selective epitympanic dysventilation may lead to common attic cholesteatoma.