High-Statistics Measurement of Neutrino Quasielasticlike Scattering at 6 GeV on a Hydrocarbon Target

We measure neutrino charged-current quasielasticlike scattering on hydrocarbon at high statistics using the wideband Neutrinos at the Main Injector beam with neutrino energy peaked at 6 GeV. The double-differential cross section is reported in terms of muon longitudinal (p_{∥}) and transverse (p_{⊥}) momentum. Cross section contours versus lepton momentum components are approximately described by a conventional generator-based simulation, however, discrepancies are observed for transverse momenta above 0.5  GeV/c for longitudinal momentum ranges 3-5 and 9-20  GeV/c. The single differential cross section versus momentum transfer squared (dσ/dQ_{QE}^{2}) is measured over a four-decade range of Q^{2} that extends to 10  GeV^{2}. The cross section turnover and falloff in the Q^{2} range 0.3-10  GeV^{2} is not fully reproduced by generator predictions that rely on dipole form factors. Our measurement probes the axial-vector content of the hadronic current and complements the electromagnetic form factor data obtained using electron-nucleon elastic scattering. These results help oscillation experiments because they probe the importance of various correlations and final-state interaction effects within the nucleus, which have different effects on the visible energy in detectors.

Protective effects of Weipixiao decoction against MNNG-induced gastric precancerous lesions in rats

Gastric cancer is recognized as one of the most common cancer. In-depth research of gastric precancerous lesions (GPL) plays an important role in preventing the occurrence of gastric cancer. Meanwhile, traditional treatment provides a novel sight in the prevention of occurrence and development of gastric cancer. The current study was designed to assess the effects of therapy with Weipixiao (WPX) decoction on N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-induced GPL rats and the underlying molecular mechanisms. After 10-weeks treatment, all rats were sacrificed. Histopathological changes of gastric tissue were assessed via hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and High-iron diamine-Alcian blue-Periodic acid-Schiff (HID-AB-PAS) staining. To be fully evidenced, RT-qPCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expressions of LDHA, CD147, HIF-1α, MCT4, PI3K, AKT, mTOR and miRNA-34a, which were crucial factors for evaluating GPL in the aspect of glycolysis pathogenesis. According to the results of HE and HID-AB-PAS staining, it could be confirmed that MNNG-induced GPL rats were obviously reversed by WPX decoction. Additionally, the increased gene levels of LDHA, CD147, MCT4, PI3K, AKT, mTOR and HIF-1α in model group were down-regulated by WPX decoction, while miRNA-34a expression was decreased and up-regulated by WPX decoction. The significantly increased protein levels of LDHA, CD147, MCT4, PI3K, AKT, mTOR and HIF-1α induced by MNNG were attenuated in rats treated with WPX decoction. In brief, the findings of this study imply that abnormal glycolysis in MNNG-induced GPL rats was relieved by WPX decoction via regulation of the expressions of LDHA, CD147, HIF-1α, MCT4, PI3K, AKT, mTOR and miRNA-34a.

[Develop the active surveillance system for vaccine safety in China]

Post-marketing surveillance of vaccine safety is an important measure to detect adverse events following immunization and therefore reduce the harms to public health. The conventional method for safety surveillance is a passive way through spontaneous reporting, which suffer from under-reporting and incomplete. While active surveillance, a newly proposed surveillance method in developed countries, is capable to make up the deficiencies of passive surveillance. The surveillance system of vaccine safety in China is currently using passive surveillance, and facing many problems and challenges. This arouses a need to promote development of an active surveillance system for vaccine safety in China, learning from the experience world-wide. This commentary aims to throw out suggestions for establishing the active surveillance system, according to the specific situation in China and based on a scoping review of literature.

Reconstruction of Dynamic and Reversible Color Change using Reflectin Protein

Cephalopods have remarkable ability to change their body color across a wide range of wavelengths, yet the structural basis remains largely unknown. Reflectin, a protein family assumed to be responsible for structural color in cephalopods, has unique features of higher-order assembly that are tightly regulated by aromatic molecules. Here, we reconstructed the dynamic and reversible color change using purified reflectin protein and demonstrated how the conformational change and the status of assembly led to the change in optical properties. In addition, optical spectral and structural analyses indicated that the “cephalopod-blue” primarily resulted from wavelength-dependent light scattering rather than reflection. Our results suggest a possible role of reflectin in color dynamics. The in vitro reconstruction system we present here may serve as an initial step for designing bio-inspired optical materials based on reflectin protein.

Publisher's Note: Identification of Nuclear Effects in Neutrino-Carbon Interactions at Low Three-Momentum Transfer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 071802 (2016)]

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.071802.

Increased detection of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae on post-clean sampling of a burns unit's wet surfaces

Wet surface biofilms are a potential reservoir for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms, including carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE). Recognition of environmental sources is important in reducing secondary patient transmission. We report the increased detection of blaIMP-4⁺ CPE in environmental samples from floor drains in burns unit shower rooms, when collected following cleaning as compared to pre-cleaning. We propose that disruption of biofilms during cleaning may account for the increased detection of multi-resistant organisms. The results highlight the role of the wet environment as an under-recognized potential source of CPE transmission. Environmental screening focusing on pre-cleaning samples alone will likely underestimate environmental contamination.

Weipixiao ameliorates gastric precancerous lesions in a rat's model by regulating GSK3¦Â and C-myc

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the mechanism underlying the action of Weipixiao (WPX) in a rat's model with ameliorating gastric precancerous lesions (GPL).

METHODS

HPLC analysis was performed to identify the chemical constituents of WPX preparation. Sprague- Dawley rats were randomly assigned into control group, model group, vitacoenzyme group, high-dose WPX group (H-WPX), medium-dose WPX group (M-WPX) and low-dose WPX group (L-WPX). After modeling, the treated rats were administrated WPX or vitacoenzyme intragastrically for consecutive 10 weeks. Gene and protein expressions of GSK3¦Â, C-myc, Cylin E were evaluated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry, respectively.

RESULTS

WPX could efficiently attenuate the pathological alterations of ""non-progressive GPL"" in rats. As expected, mRNA and protein levels of C-myc and Cylin E were up-regulated in model rats, while GSK3¦Â expression down-regulated (P < 0.01). WPX treatment, especially at low dose, could significantly down-regulate the mRNA as well as protein levels of C-myc, and could lead to remarkable up-regulation of mRNA and protein levels of GSK3¦Â in GPL rats (P < 0.05). However, no significant changes were observed in WPX-treated rats.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggested that WPX-mediated attenuation of GPL pathological alterations might be due to its regulatory effect on the expressions of GSK3¦Â and C-myc, and on the dysregulation of Wnt/GSK3¦Â pathway.

Molecular mechanisms of the action of Arctigenin in cancer

Since antediluvian times, the scientific community has realized that natural compounds exhibit enormous potential for the treatment of terrible diseases, such as cancer. Despite a variety of effective bioactive molecules, effective therapies still need to be developed to treat cancer. Hence, it is necessary to study the interactions of natural molecules with their cellular targets. Arctigenin (ATG), a natural lignan compound extracted from Arctium lappa, inhibits the growth of various cancer cells, such as those of the stomach, lungs, liver, and colon, as well as leukocytes, and regulates numerous intracellular activities, such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. The intention of this paper is to summarize and generally analyse the molecular pathways that are involved in the anticancer effects of ATG. In addition, the interactions of ATG with other drugs are also highlighted in this paper.

Weipixiao attenuate early angiogenesis in rats with gastric precancerous lesions

BACKGROUND

Angiogenesis is a pathobiological hallmark of gastric cancer. However, rare studies focus on angiogenesis in gastric precancerous lesions (GPL). Weipixiao (WPX), a Chinese herbal preparation, is proved clinically effective in treating GPL. Here, we evaluated WPX's anti-angiogenic potential for GPL, and also investigated the possibility of its anti-angiogenic mechanisms.

METHODS

HPLC analysis was applied to screen the major chemical components of WPX. After modeling N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-induced GPL in male Sprague-Dawley rats, different doses of WPX were administrated orally for 10 weeks. Next, we performed histopathological examination using routine H&E staining and HID-AB-PAS staining. In parallel, we assessed angiogenesis revealed by microvessel density (MVD) using CD34 immunostaining, and subsequently observe microvessel ultrastructure in gastric mucosa under Transmission Electron Microscope. Finally, we detect expression of angiogenesis-associated markers VEGF and HIF-1α using immunohistochemistry. Moreover, mRNA expressions of ERK1, ERK2, Cylin D1 as well as HIF-1α in gastric mucosa were determined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS

We observed the appearance of active angiogenesis in GPL rats, and demonstrated that WPX could reduce microvascular abnormalities and attenuate early angiogenesis in most of GPL specimens with a concomitant regression of most intestinal metaplasia (IM) and a portion of gastric epithelial dysplasia (GED). In parallel, WPX could suppress HIF-1α mRNA expression (P < 0.01) as well as protein expression (although without statistical significance), and could markedly inhibit VEGF protein expression in GPL rats. Mechanistically, WPX intervention, especially at low dose, caused a significant decrease in the ERK1 and Cylin D1 mRNA levels. However, WPX might probably have no regulatory effect on ERK2 amplification.

CONCLUSIONS

WPX could attenuate early angiogenesis and temper microvascular abnormalities in GPL rats. This might be partly achieved by inhibiting on the angiogenesis-associated markers HIF-1α and VEGF, and on the ERK1/Cylin D1 aberrant activation.

Predictors of oncological outcomes in T1G3 patients treated with BCG who undergo radical cystectomy

PURPOSE

To evaluate the oncological impact of postponing radical cystectomy (RC) to allow further conservative therapies prior to progression in a large multicentre retrospective cohort of T1-HG/G3 patients initially treated with BCG.

METHODS

According to the time of RC, the population was divided into 3 groups: patients who did not progress to muscle-invasive disease, patients who progressed before radical cystectomy and patients who experienced progression at the time of radical cystectomy. Clinical and pathological outcomes were compared across the three groups.

RESULTS

Of 2451 patients, 509 (20.8%) underwent RC. Patients with tumors > 3 cm or with CIS had earlier cystectomies (HR = 1.79, p = 0.001 and HR = 1.53, p = 0.02, respectively). Patients with tumors > 3 cm, multiple tumors or CIS had earlier T3/T4 or N + cystectomies. In patients who progressed, the timing of cystectomy did not affect the risk of T3/T4 or N + disease at RC. Patients with T3/T4 or N + disease at RC had a shorter disease-specific survival (HR = 4.38, p < 0.001), as did patients with CIS at cystectomy (HR = 2.39, p < 0.001). Patients who progressed prior to cystectomy had a shorter disease-specific survival than patients for whom progression was only detected at cystectomy (HR = 0.58, p = 0.024) CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with RC before experiencing progression to muscle-invasive disease harbor better oncological and survival outcomes compared to those who progressed before RC and to those upstaged at surgery. Tumor size and concomitant CIS at diagnosis are the main predictors of surgical treatment while tumor size, CIS and tumor multiplicity are associated with extravesical disease at surgery.

Measurement of Final-State Correlations in Neutrino Muon-Proton Mesonless Production on Hydrocarbon at ⟨E_{ν}⟩=3 GeV

Final-state kinematic imbalances are measured in mesonless production of ν_{μ}+A→μ^{-}+p+X in the MINERvA tracker. Initial- and final-state nuclear effects are probed using the direction of the μ^{-}-p transverse momentum imbalance and the initial-state momentum of the struck neutron. Differential cross sections are compared to predictions based on current approaches to medium modeling. These models underpredict the cross section at intermediate intranuclear momentum transfers that generally exceed the Fermi momenta. As neutrino interaction models need to correctly incorporate the effect of the nucleus in order to predict neutrino energy resolution in oscillation experiments, this result points to a region of phase space where additional cross section strength is needed in current models, and demonstrates a new technique that would be suitable for use in fine-grained liquid argon detectors where the effect of the nucleus may be even larger.

Evolution and characterisation of the AhRAF4 NB-ARC gene family induced by Aspergillus flavus inoculation and abiotic stresses in peanut

Aflatoxin contamination in peanut is a serious food safety issue to human health around the world. Finding disease resistance genes is a key strategy for genetic improvement in breeding to deal with this issue. We identified an Aspergillus flavus-induced NBS-LRR gene, AhRAF4, using a microarray-based approach. By comparison of 23 sequences from three species using phytogenetics, protein secondary structure and three-dimensional structural analyses, AhRAF4 was revealed to be derived from Arachis duranensis by recombination, and has newly evolved into a family of several members, characterised by duplications and point mutations. However, the members of the family descended from A. ipaensis were lost following tetraploidisation. AhRAF4 was slightly up-regulated by low temperature, drought, salicylic acid and ethylene, but down-regulated by methyl jasmonate. The distinct responses upon As. flavus inoculation and the differential reactions between resistant and susceptible varieties indicate that AhRAF4 might play a role in defence responses. Temporal and spatial expression and the phenotype of transformed protoplasts suggest that AhRAF4 may also be associated with pericarp development. Because tetraploid cultivated peanuts are vulnerable to many pathogens, an exploration of R-genes may provide an effective method for genetic improvement of peanut cultivars.

Antineutrino Charged-Current Reactions on Hydrocarbon with Low Momentum Transfer

We report on multinucleon effects in low momentum transfer (<0.8  GeV/c) antineutrino interactions on plastic (CH) scintillator. These data are from the 2010-2011 antineutrino phase of the MINERvA experiment at Fermilab. The hadronic energy spectrum of this inclusive sample is well described when a screening effect at a low energy transfer and a two-nucleon knockout process are added to a relativistic Fermi gas model of quasielastic, Δ resonance, and higher resonance processes. In this analysis, model elements introduced to describe previously published neutrino results have quantitatively similar benefits for this antineutrino sample. We present the results as a double-differential cross section to accelerate the investigation of alternate models for antineutrino scattering off nuclei.

The gastric mucosal protective effects of astragaloside IV in mnng-induced GPL rats

Gastric Cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. And the occurrence of gastric carcinoma is an evolutionary histopathological stage. As a result, further research of GPL, which is a borderline of gastric cancer, is indispensable for preventing the formation and development of gastric carcinoma. Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between the expression of autophagy, apoptosis and Gastric cancer (GC). However, the effects of autophagy and apoptosis on human gastric cancer progression, particularly on gastric precancerous lesions (GPL), have not totally been investigated. At present, Astragaloside IV(AS-IV) is a saponin purified from Astragalus membranaceous Bge, a traditional Chinese herb that has been widely used for more than 2000 y in the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular and immune disorders. This study was designed to investigate the mechanism of AS-IV protecting gastric mucosa in N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-induced GPL rats. The lesions of GIM and GED were significantly ameliorated compared with the model rats, especially crowded tubular glandular and back-to-back tubular structure, which were the dangerous borderline between GPL and GC. Western Blot analysis showed that the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and the protein expression of Bcl-XL, p53, Beclin1, p62, ATG5 and ATG12 were decreased and the level of Caspase3 was increased in the group of AS-IV compared with the model group; RT-PCR analysis showed that the gene expression Ambra1, Beclin1, ATG5, LC3 and p62 were decreased in the group of AS-IV compared with the model group. This research manifested that the occurrence of gastric cancer was preceded by a prolonged precancerous stage, which could be ameliorated by the AS-IV. Meanwhile, the mild and moderate stage of precancerous lesions is similar with gastric adenocarcinoma in critical biological processes, including inflammation, cell proliferation, differentiation. But this lesion is very different from cancer, because it does not appear obvious invasion and malignant lesions in this pathologic stag. Further, AS-IV could regulate p53 expression to activate the Ambra1/Beclin1 complex in GPL, and it will protect the gastric mucosal injury, prevent and cure gastric mucosal atrophy, intestinal metaplasia and atypical hyperplastic lesions. It provided a potential therapeutic strategy in reversing intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia of gastric precancerous lesions and protecting the gastric mucosa in GPL rats.

The Role of the Thiol N-Acetylcysteine in the Prevention of Tumor Invasion and Angiogenesis

We have extensively studied the effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a cytoprotective drug that can prevent in vivo carcinogenesis. Here we review our findings NAC completely inhibits gelatinolytic activity of metalloproteases and chemotactic and invasive activities of tumor cells. In addition, NAC reduces the number of lung metastases when malignant murine melanoma cells are injected into nude mice. NAC treatment decreases the weight of primary tumors and produces a dose-related increase in tumor latency. Moreover, oral administration of NAC reduces the formation of spontaneous metastases. In experimental metastasis assays, we have found a synergistic reduction in the number of lung metastases after treatment with doxorubicin (DOX) and NAC in nude mice. In tumorigenicity and spontaneous metastasis assays, the combined administration of DOX and oral NAC again has shown synergistic effects on the frequency and weight of primary tumors and local recurrences and completely prevented the formation of lung metastases. The addition of NAC to endothelial cells strongly reduces their invasive activity in response to angiogenic stimuli. NAC inhibited the degradation and release of radiolabeled type IV collagen by activated endothelial cells, indicating that NAC blocks gelatinase activity. Oral administration of NAC reduces the angiogenic response induced by KS tumor cell products, confirming the ability of NAC to inhibit the invasive activity of endothelial cells in vivo and thereby blocking angiogenesis.

Neuroprotective effects of bajijiasu against cognitive impairment induced by amyloid-β in APP/PS1 mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurological degenerative disease. The main clinical manifestations of AD include progressive cognitive impairment and alteration of personality. Senile plaques, neuroinflammation, and destruction of synapse structure stability are the main pathological features of AD. Bajijiasu(BJJS) is extracted from Morinda Officinalis, a Chinese herb. In this study, we explored the effect of BJJS on AD from many aspects in APPswe/PSEN1ΔE9 (APP/PS1) double transgenic mice. The Morris water maze and novel object recognition tests results showed that BJJS could significantly improve the learning and memory abilities in APP/PS1 mice. BJJS treatment increased the level of insulin degradation enzyme (IDE) and neprilysin (NEP) and decreased the level of β-site app cleaving enzyme 1(BACE1) in the brain of APP/PS1 mice. BJJS-treated APP/PS1 mice appeared to have reductions of Aβ deposition and senile plaques, and showed higher levels of neurotrophic factors in the brain. We also found that BJJS had an inhibitory function on neuroinflammation in APP/PS1 mice. In addition, the synapse structure relevant proteins were elevated in the brain of BJJS-treated APP/PS1 mice. The present results indicated that BJJS could attenuate cognitive impairment via ameliorating the AD-related pathological alterations in APP/PS1 mice. These findings suggest that BJJS may be a potential therapeutic strategy in Alzheimer's disease.