Measurement of the Absolute Branching Fraction of D_{s}^{+}→τ^{+}ν_{τ} via τ^{+}→e^{+}ν_{e}ν[over ¯]_{τ}

Using a dataset of 6.32  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} annihilation data collected with the BESIII detector at center-of-mass energies between 4178 and 4226 MeV, we have measured the absolute branching fraction of the leptonic decay D_{s}^{+}→τ^{+}ν_{τ} via τ^{+}→e^{+}ν_{e}ν[over ¯]_{τ}, and find B_{D_{s}^{+}→τ^{+}ν_{τ}}=(5.27±0.10±0.12)×10^{-2}, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The precision is improved by a factor of 2 compared to the previous best measurement. Combining with f_{D_{s}^{+}} from lattice quantum chromodynamics calculations or the |V_{cs}| from the CKMfitter group, we extract |V_{cs}|=0.978±0.009±0.012 and f_{D_{s}^{+}}=(251.1±2.4±3.0)  MeV, respectively. Combining our result with the world averages of B_{D_{s}^{+}→τ^{+}ν_{τ}} and B_{D_{s}^{+}→μ^{+}ν_{μ}}, we obtain the ratio of the branching fractions B_{D_{s}^{+}→τ^{+}ν_{τ}}/B_{D_{s}^{+}→μ^{+}ν_{μ}}=9.72±0.37, which is consistent with the standard model prediction of lepton flavor universality.

Clinical features and survival in pulmonary Takayasu's arteritis associated pulmonary hypertension: a national registry study

Background

The clinical features and long-term outcomes of patients with pulmonary Takayasu's arteritis associated pulmonary hypertension (PTA-PH) have not been well studied.

Purpose

To assess the clinical characteristics and long-term survival outcome in patients with PTA-PH.

Methods

We conducted a multi-center cohort study using the clinical, functional, and hemodynamic data from the National Rare Diseases Registry System of China. Patients with Takayasu's arteritis and pulmonary artery involvement, who fulfilled the 1990 American College of Rheumatology and/or modified Ishikawa criteria, from 13 referral centers of China, were included. The diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension (PH) was confirmed by right heart catheterization findings. The primary outcome was time from diagnosis of PTA-PH to the occurrence of all-cause death.

Results

Between Jan. 2007 and Jan. 2019, a total of 140 patients with PTA-PH were included, with a mean age of 41.4±14.3 years at diagnosis, and a female predominance (81%). The most common symptoms were exertional dyspnea (91%) and hemoptysis (36%). The majority of patients (87%) exhibited bilateral pulmonary artery involvement. Pulmonary lobar artery was the most frequently affected vessel (100%), followed by segmental artery (82%) and left/right pulmonary artery trunk (49%). Severely compromised hemodynamic profiles were identified in these patients, indicating by elevated mean pulmonary artery pressure (48, interquartile range [IQR] 38–59 mm Hg) and pulmonary vascular resistance (9.4, IQR 5.7–13.3 Wood U). The overall 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival rates in PTA-PH were 94.0%, 83.2%, and 77.2%, respectively (Figure). Predictors associated with increased risk of all-cause death were the presence of syncope (hazard ratio [HR]: 4.88; 95% CI: 1.62–14.74; p=0.005), N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide level (HR: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.02–1.06; p<0.001), and right atrial pressure (HR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.02–1.73; p=0.009).

Conclusions

In this national registry study, the reported clinical features and long-term prognosis of patients with PTA-PH are novel findings. These findings may provide new insights on this specific pulmonary hypertension entity.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): The National Key Research and Development Program of China Kaplan-Meier plot for survival rate

High-efficiency water purification for methyl orange and lead(II) by eco-friendly magnetic sulfur-doped graphene-like carbon-supported layered double oxide

Traditional disposal techniques for the spent layered adsorbents after capturing organics suffer from intractable obstacles, such as resource waste and secondary pollution. To address this diploma, we here developed the "resource-utilization" strategy, i.e., converting the organic layered double hydroxide (as representative) to magnetic sulfur (S)-doped graphene-like carbon-supported layered double oxide (MG/S-LDO) to be reutilized in water purification. The as-prepared MG/S-LDO exhibited outstanding remediation ability toward methyl orange (MO) and lead(II), with the adsorption capacity of 1456 and 656 mg g^-1, respectively. Specifically, the residue concentration of Pb²⁺ was reduced to 0.15 mg L^-1 within 1 h, which met the discharge limit of the secondary industrial wastewater. MG/S-LDO could also maintain the preeminent adsorption capability under various interferences (such as wide pH and co-existing ions), even in the authentic water matrices. The removal mechanisms were systematically investigated to unveil that MO removal was dominated by metal-complexation, "memory effect", and π-π electron donor-acceptor (EDA). While for Pb²⁺ removal, besides the released OH^- from LDO as precipitate agent, the vacancy defect resulting from the S doping played a crucial role in electron interaction between Pb²⁺ and S-doped graphene. Additionally, the MG/S-LDO was further confirmed as an eco-friendly adsorbent with excellent reusability via the acute toxicity tests using green algae and multiple cycle experiments. This work provides a novel resource-utilization strategy for organic layered wastes to construct the functional eco-friendly materials in wastewater purification realm.

Observation of D^{0}→K_{1}(1270)^{-}e^{+}ν_{e}

Using 2.93  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} collision data taken with the BESIII detector at a center-of-mass energy of 3.773 GeV, the observation of the D^{0}→K_{1}(1270)^{-}e^{+}ν_{e} semileptonic decay is presented. The statistical significance of the decay D^{0}→K_{1}(1270)^{-}e^{+}ν_{e} is greater than 10σ. The branching fraction of D^{0}→K_{1}(1270)^{-}e^{+}ν_{e} is measured to be (1.09±0.13_{-0.16}^{+0.09}±0.12)×10^{-3}. Here, the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third originates from the assumed branching fraction of K_{1}(1270)^{-}→K^{-}π^{+}π^{-}. The fraction of longitudinal polarization in D^{0}→K_{1}(1270)^{-}e^{+}ν_{e} is determined for the first time to be 0.50±0.19_{stat}±0.08_{syst}.

First Measurement of the Absolute Branching Fraction of Λ→pμ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ}

The absolute branching fraction of Λ→pμ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ} is reported for the first time based on an e^{+}e^{-} annihilation sample of 10×10^{9}  J/ψ events collected with the BESIII detector at sqrt[s]=3.097  GeV. The branching fraction is determined to be B(Λ→pμ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ})=[1.48±0.21(stat)±0.08(syst)]×10^{-4}, which is improved by about 30% in precision over the previous indirect measurements. Combining this result with the world average of B(Λ→pe^{-}ν[over ¯]_{e}), we obtain the ratio {[Γ(Λ→pμ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ})]/[Γ(Λ→pe^{-}ν[over ¯]_{e})]} to be 0.178±0.028, which agrees with the standard model prediction assuming lepton flavor universality. The asymmetry of the branching fractions of Λ→pμ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ} and Λ[over ¯]→p[over ¯]μ^{+}ν_{μ} is also determined, and no evidence for CP violation is found.

[Long-Chain Free Fatty Acids Influence Lipid Accumulation, Lysosome Activation and Glycolytic Shift in Various Cells In Vitro]

Hydrophobic molecules may be toxic when present in excess. When dissolved in membranes, hydrophobic molecules disrupt membrane function. Studies on the effects of free fatty acids (FFA) on cultured cells contradict each other. Here we describe the effects of FFA on various human cells in culture. The addition of long-chain FFA (oleic, palmitic, linoleic, linolenic, etc.) to cultured cells led to lipid accumulation in hepatocytes and muscle cells, initiation of autophagy, and uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. Although treated cells increase their oxygen consumption, metabolic shifts in favor of glycolysis were observed. All these effects were expressed to varying degrees in different cells and with the addition of different FFAs. The mechanisms of these FFA effects are discussed, as well their practical implications.

Meta-analysis of patent foramen ovale closure versus medical therapy for prevention of recurrent ischemic neurological events: Impact of medication type

BACKGROUND

The optimal treatment strategy for patent foramen ovale (PFO) patients with cryptic stroke remains controversial. We performed this meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of PFO closure versus different types of medical therapy.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases. The primary efficacy endpoints were the composite outcome of recurrent stroke and/or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Secondary efficacy endpoints included separate stroke and TIA. Safety endpoints included new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF)/atrial flutter and bleeding.

RESULTS

Compared with antiplatelet therapy, PFO closure significantly reduced the risk of composite outcome (odds ratio [OR] 0.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27-0.51), stroke (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.13-0.36], and TIA (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34-0.98); Compared with the mixed medical therapy group (consist of antiplatelet therapy, anticoagulant therapy, or both), PFO closure still showed some benefits, but the effect was not as significant as that of antiplatelet therapy (composite outcome: OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.41-0.69; stroke: OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.34-0.68; TIA: OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.50-0.96); Compared with anticoagulant therapy, PFO closure showed no benefit (composite outcome: OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.46-1.28; stroke: OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.28-1.25; TIA: OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.50-2.04). In terms of safe endpoints, compared with antiplatelet therapy and anticoagulant therapy, PFO closure increased the risk of AF/atrial flutter (OR 9.56, 95% CI 2.85-32.06; OR 18.96, 95% CI 1.11-323.8, respectively) and reduced the risk of bleeding (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.24-1.05; OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.04-0.46, respectively); compared with mixed medical therapy, PFO closure increased the risk of AF/atrial flutter (OR 4.40,95% CI 2.24-8.67), but there was no difference in bleeding (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.56-1.68).

CONCLUSIONS

With the addition of anticoagulants, the benefit of PFO closure decreased gradually. Patient groups that adopt individualized medical therapy strategies may benefit more.

Inpatient and outpatient treatment patterns of cancer-associated thrombosis in the United States

Low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are among the recommended treatment options for cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) in the 2019 National Comprehensive Care Network guidelines. Little is known about the current utilization of DOACs in CAT patients, particularly on the inpatient to outpatient therapy transition. This study assessed real-world treatment patterns of CAT in hospital/ED in adult cancer patients (≥ 18 years) diagnosed with CAT during a hospital visit in IQVIA's Hospital Charge Data Master database between July 1, 2015 and April 30, 2018, and followed their outpatient medical and pharmacy claims to evaluate the initial inpatient/ED and outpatient anticoagulants received within 3 months post-discharge. Results showed that LMWH and unfractionated heparin (UFH) were the most common initial inpatient/ED CAT treatments (35.2% and 27.4%, respectively), followed by DOACs (9.6%); 20.8% of patients received no anticoagulants. Most DOAC patients remained on DOACs from inpatient/ED to outpatient settings (71.4%), while 24.1%, 43.5%, and 0.1% of patients treated with LMWH, warfarin, or UFH respectively, remained on the same therapy after discharge. In addition, DOACs were the most common initial post-discharge outpatient therapy. Outpatient treatment persistence and adherence appeared higher in patients using DOACs or warfarin versus LMWH or UFH. This study shows that DOACs are used as an inpatient/ED treatment option for CAT, and are associated with less post-discharge treatment switching and higher persistence and adherence. Further research generating real-world evidence on the role of DOACs to help inform the complex CAT clinical treatment decisions is warranted.

Measurement of the Cosmic Ray Helium Energy Spectrum from 70 GeV to 80 TeV with the DAMPE Space Mission

The measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic ray helium nuclei from 70 GeV to 80 TeV using 4.5 years of data recorded by the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is reported in this work. A hardening of the spectrum is observed at an energy of about 1.3 TeV, similar to previous observations. In addition, a spectral softening at about 34 TeV is revealed for the first time with large statistics and well controlled systematic uncertainties, with an overall significance of 4.3σ. The DAMPE spectral measurements of both cosmic protons and helium nuclei suggest a particle charge dependent softening energy, although with current uncertainties a dependence on the number of nucleons cannot be ruled out.

Observation of a Near-Threshold Structure in the K^{+} Recoil-Mass Spectra in e^{+}e^{-}→K^{+}(D_{s}^{-}D^{*0}+D_{s}^{*-}D^{0})

We report a study of the processes of e^{+}e^{-}→K^{+}D_{s}^{-}D^{*0} and K^{+}D_{s}^{*-}D^{0} based on e^{+}e^{-} annihilation samples collected with the BESIII detector operating at BEPCII at five center-of-mass energies ranging from 4.628 to 4.698 GeV with a total integrated luminosity of 3.7  fb^{-1}. An excess of events over the known contributions of the conventional charmed mesons is observed near the D_{s}^{-}D^{*0} and D_{s}^{*-}D^{0} mass thresholds in the K^{+} recoil-mass spectrum for events collected at sqrt[s]=4.681  GeV. The structure matches a mass-dependent-width Breit-Wigner line shape, whose pole mass and width are determined as (3982.5_{-2.6}^{+1.8}±2.1)  MeV/c^{2} and (12.8_{-4.4}^{+5.3}±3.0)  MeV, respectively. The first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. The significance of the resonance hypothesis is estimated to be 5.3  σ over the contributions only from the conventional charmed mesons. This is the first candidate for a charged hidden-charm tetraquark with strangeness, decaying into D_{s}^{-}D^{*0} and D_{s}^{*-}D^{0}. However, the properties of the excess need further exploration with more statistics.

Model-Independent Determination of the Spin of the Ω^{-} and Its Polarization Alignment in ψ(3686)→Ω^{-}Ω[over ¯]^{+}

We present an analysis of the process ψ(3686)→Ω^{-}Ω[over ¯]^{+} (Ω^{-}→K^{-}Λ, Ω[over ¯]^{+}→K^{+}Λ[over ¯], Λ→pπ^{-}, Λ[over ¯]→p[over ¯]π^{+}) based on a dataset of 448×10^{6}  ψ(3686) decays collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII electron-positron collider. The helicity amplitudes for the process ψ(3686)→Ω^{-}Ω[over ¯]^{+} and the decay parameters of the subsequent decay Ω^{-}→K^{-}Λ (Ω[over ¯]^{+}→K^{+}Λ[over ¯]) are measured for the first time by a fit to the angular distribution of the complete decay chain, and the spin of the Ω^{-} is determined to be 3/2 for the first time since its discovery more than 50 years ago.

Oral anticoagulants for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation in frail elderly patients: insights from the ARISTOPHANES study

BACKGROUND

Patient frailty amongst patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is associated with adverse health outcomes and increased risk of mortality. Additional evidence is needed to evaluate effective and safe NVAF treatment in this patient population.

OBJECTIVES

This subgroup analysis of the ARISTOPHANES study compared the risk of stroke/systemic embolism (S/SE) and major bleeding (MB) amongst frail NVAF patients prescribed nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) or warfarin.

METHODS

This comparative retrospective observational study of frail, older NVAF patients who initiated apixaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban or warfarin from 01JAN2013-30SEP2015 was conducted using Medicare and 3 US commercial claims databases. To compare each drug, 6 propensity score-matched (PSM) cohorts were created. Patient cohorts were pooled from 4 databases after PSM. Cox models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) of S/SE and MB.

RESULTS

Amongst NVAF patients, 34% (N = 150 487) met frailty criteria. Apixaban and rivaroxaban were associated with a lower risk of S/SE vs warfarin (apixaban: HR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.55-0.69; rivaroxaban: HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.72-0.87). For MB, apixaban (HR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.57-0.66) and dabigatran (HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.70-0.89) were associated with a lower risk and rivaroxaban (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.08-1.21) was associated with a higher risk vs warfarin.

CONCLUSION

Amongst this cohort of frail NVAF patients, NOACs were associated with varying rates of stroke/SE and MB compared with warfarin. Due to the lack of real-world data regarding OAC treatment in frail patients, these results may inform clinical practice in the treatment of this patient population.

Indirect evaluation of device-endothelialization with cardiac-CT after transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect: how long should antiplatelet therapy last postoperatively?

Background

After transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect (ASD), it is still unclear about the in-vivo process of device-endothelialization in humans, which determines the duration of antiplatelet therapy. Based on contrast-uptake within device, cardiac-CT might have the potential to assess device-endothelialization indirectly.

Purpose

The study was conducted to investigate the status of device-endothelialization with cardiac-CT after transcatheter closure of ASD.

Methods

After more than 6 months of transcatheter ASD closure, cardiac-CT was performed in 119 patients (48M/71F; age: 46.7±14.4 years). According to contrast-uptake within device, complete or incomplete device-endothelialization was determined. In the latter, it was further divided into partial-endothelialization (with filling-defect) and no-endothelialization (without filling-defect). Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors of incomplete device-endothelialization. In addition, device-endothelialization was analyzed grossly and histopathologically in 7 patients.

Results

During the implantation-period of 2.57±2.59 years, incomplete device-endothelialization was identified in 43.7% of patients (partial-endothelialization in 36 patients and no-endothelialization in 16 patients). Complete device-endothelialization occurred in 14.3% of patients during 0.5–1 year and 73.8% after one year. After 6-month antiplatelet therapy, migraine restarted in 15 patients with incomplete device-endothelialization and 3 patients with complete device-endothelialization. After one-year antiplatelet therapy, migraine was still detected in 4 of 15 patients with incomplete device-endothelialization. There was a significant association between high in-vivo device-thickness and incomplete device-endothelialization (P<0.001) after adjusted for confounding factors. Pathological findings from 7 patients corresponded well with cardiac-CT.

Conclusions

Cardiac-CT had the potential to evaluate the status of device-endothelialization after transcatheter closure of ASD and there was a good clinico-pathological correlation. Incomplete device-endothelialization was common postoperatively in humans and was associated with device-oversizing. Further research is required to determine the appropriate duration of antiplatelet therapy after device implantation.

Figure 1

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Other. Main funding source(s): National Natural Science Foundation of China

Manipulating Complex Hybrid Entanglement and Testing Multipartite Bell Inequalities in a Superconducting Circuit

Quantum correlations in observables of multiple systems not only are of fundamental interest, but also play a key role in quantum information processing. As a signature of these correlations, the violation of Bell inequalities has not been demonstrated with multipartite hybrid entanglement involving both continuous and discrete variables. Here we create a five-partite entangled state with three superconducting transmon qubits and two photonic qubits, each encoded in the mesoscopic field of a microwave cavity. We reveal the quantum correlations among these distinct elements by joint Wigner tomography of the two cavity fields conditional on the detection of the qubits and by test of a five-partite Bell inequality. The measured Bell signal is 8.381±0.038, surpassing the bound of 8 for a four-partite entanglement imposed by quantum correlations by 10 standard deviations, demonstrating the genuine five-partite entanglement in a hybrid quantum system.

MiR-372-3p promotes tumor progression by targeting LATS2 in colorectal cancer

OBJECTIVE

Many studies suggest that microRNAs can promote the malignant development of tumors. MiRNA-372-3p (miR-372-3p) has been proved to be associated with a variety of cancers. However, the role of miR-372-3p in colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We analyzed the expression of miR-372-3p in CRC tissues and several CRC cell lines by quantitative Real Time-PCR. The relationship between miR-372-3p and clinical pathology was also analyzed in CRC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox multivariate analysis were used to evaluate the prognostic significance of miR-372-3p in CRC. Next, we investigated the biological function of miR-372-3p, including cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and analyzed its potential molecular mechanism in vivo and in vitro.

RESULTS

Our data showed that the expression of miR-372-3p was dramatically increased in CRC tissues compared with normal tissues. Moreover, the high expression of miR-372-3p was significantly correlated with tumor size and differentiation. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the high miR-372-3p expression group patients had a significantly shorter recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) than those with the low miR-372-3p group. The analysis of the prognostic factors revealed that miR-372-3p was an independent prognostic factor for RFS and DSS in CRC patients. The knockdown of miR-372-3p inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Interestingly, the overexpression of LATS2 partially reversed the miR-372-3p -mediated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC. Besides, the Hippo signaling pathway was demonstrated to be activated by decreasing of miR-372-3p in CRC. Thus, our study revealed that miR-372-3p is involved in CRC progression by inhibiting the Hippo signaling pathway through its target LATS2. MiR-372-3p and its target genes with signaling pathways are new hope for precise treatment of CRC.

CONCLUSIONS

The upregulation of miR-372-3p was involved in the process of CRC progression by inhibiting the Hippo signaling pathway through inhibition of LATS2. We showed that miR-372-3p and its target genes with signaling pathways are a novel hope for precise treatment of CRC.