Rapamycin and hydroxychloroquine combination alters macrophage polarization and sensitizes glioblastoma to immune checkpoint inhibitors

INTRODUCTION

The failure of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPi) on glioblastoma (GBM) treatment underscores the need for improving therapeutic strategy. We aimed to change tumor associated macrophage (TAM) from M2 type (anti-inflammatory) to M1 (pro-inflammatory) type to increase the therapeutic response of ICPi. We proposed that combined rapamycin (R) and hydroxychloroquine (Q) preferentially induce M2 cells death, as fatty acid oxidation was their major source of energy.

METHODS

Macrophage polarization was characterized on mice and human macrophage cell lines by specific cytokines stimulation with or without RQ treatment under single culture or co-culture with GBM cell lines. Tumor sizes were evaluated on subcutaneous and intracranial GL261 mice models with or without RQ, anti-PD1 mAb treatment. Tumor volumes assessed by MRI scan and proportions of tumor infiltrating immune cells analyzed by flow cytometry were compared.

RESULTS

In vitro RQ treatment decreased the macrophages polarization of M2, increased the phagocytic ability, and increased the lipid droplets accumulation. RQ treatment decreased the expression levels of CD47 and SIRPα on tumor cells and macrophage cells in co-culture experiments. The combination of RQ and anti-PD1 treatment was synergistic in action. Enhanced the intra-tumoral M1/M2 ratio, the CD8/CD4 ratio in the intracranial GL261 tumor model after RQ treatment were evident.

CONCLUSION

We provide a rationale for manipulating the macrophage phenotype and increased the therapeutic effect of ICPi. To re-educate and re-empower the TAM/microglia opens an interesting avenue for GBM treatment.

Dosimetric measurement of scattered radiation for simulated head and neck radiotherapy with homemade oral phantom

During radiotherapy for head and neck tumours, the oral cavity and cheek area would be inevitably exposed to high energy radiation; thus, the material surface of the teeth, dental restorations with high atomic number, or alloy prosthodontics would generate backscatter electrons that cause the buccal mucosa adjacent to these materials to receive localized high dose enhancement, which primarily leads to side effects or oral mucositis. Based on the size of the adult oral cavity, this study aimed to use acrylic resin to create an oral phantom with two grooves on the left and right sides for placement of three molars. Moreover, the distance between the inner cheek and the side surface of the teeth could be accurately adjusted every 1 mm from 0 to 5 mm. This enhanced the dose in the buccal mucosa during head and neck radiotherapy and made the distribution measurement of the radiation dose simple and feasible at different depths (0-5 mm). Meanwhile, the study employed the film type optically stimulated luminescent dosimeter with a thickness of 0.3 mm to measure the absorbed dose inside the buccal mucosa to reduce the dose interference from radiotherapy. The study fixed three real molars in a row located at the left side of the phantom and employed 6 MV photons and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) to treat and simulate oral cancer and measure the attenuation of the molar's backscatter dose from 0 to 5 mm in an up beam direction. The result showed that, in every 3 mm, the phantom had attenuated the enhancement of backscatter dose <3%. The irradiation dose enhancement in a single direction was twice higher than that through IMRT 7 field treatment. These measurement results were consistent with the results of previous studies.

[Value of dual-energy CT-based volumetric iodine-uptake in the evaluation of chemotherapy efficacy in advanced gastric cancer]

Objective: To explore the value of dual-energy CT-based volumetric iodine-uptake (VIU) in the evaluation of chemotherapy efficacy in advanced gastric cancer. Methods: Inclusion criteria of subjects: (1) without previous systematic therapy; (2) with complete clinical information before and after chemotherapy; (3) without contraindications of chemotherapy. Exclusion criteria of subjects: (1) unfinished duration and times of chemotherapy; (2) unmeasurable primary lesions; (3) poor imaging quality or poor gastric filling. Clinical and image data of 52 patients with advanced gastric cancer who were diagnosed by pathology from gastroscopic biopsy, and needed chemotherapy evaluated by imaging and clinical information in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from February 2017 to February 2018 were collected and analyzed. Of 52 patients, 38 were male and 14 were female with the median age of 65 (31-88) years old. All the patients underwent a dual-energy, dual phase-enhanced CT scanning before chemotherapy and after the third chemotherapy session. The parameters of the lesions measured before and after chemotherapy in portal vein phase were as follows: the maximum diameter (the largest diameter among those measured in the cross-sectional, coronal, and sagittal planes), average CT value (the regions of interest were manually pinpointed under cross-sectional planes with largest diameter of the tumor, which did not include regions less than 2 mm to the edge of the tumor) and VIU (lesion volume × iodine concentration). The change rates of maximum lesion diameter, average CT value and VIU before and after chemotherapy were calculated [(post-chemotherapy parameters-pre-chemotherapy parameters)/ pre-chemotherapy parameters]. The efficacy of chemotherapy was evaluated by RECIST 1.1 (the change of maximum tumor diameter after chemotherapy), Choi (the change of average CT value after chemotherapy) and VIU (the change of VIU after chemotherapy), respectively, which was categorized by complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD). Patients with CR, PR, and SD were assigned to the effective group, while those with PD were classified as the ineffective group. Paired t - test or Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used to compare the changes of parameters before and after chemotherapy, whereas Spearman correlation analysis and Kappa test were used for the correlation analysis and the consistency test between the three evaluation criteria (Kappa≥0.75 indicated good consistency). Results: After chemotherapy, the average CT value [(74.01±16.75) HU vs. (81.06±15.87) HU, t=2.202, P=0.030] and median VIU (668.53×10(2) μg vs. 272.52×10(2) μg, Z=4.761, P<0.001) decreased significantly, while the difference of the maximum diameter was not statistically significant [(66.71±34.49) mm vs. (78.45±35.62) mm, t=1.708, P=0.091]. The median change rate of VIU (-53.33%) was greater than that of CT values (-5.75%) with significant difference (Z=-5.408, P<0.001). According to the RECIST 1.1 criteria, 47 patients (90.4%, including 19 with PR and 28 with SD) were effective and 5 patients (9.6%) were ineffective. According to the Choi criteria, 45 patients (86.5%, including 37 with PR and 8 with SD) were effective and 7 patients (13.5%) were ineffective. According to the VIU criteria, 46 patients (88.5%, including 41 with PR and 5 with SD) were effective and 6 patients (11.5%) were ineffective. Efficacy comparison among these three criteria showed no significant difference (χ(2)=0.377, P=0.828). As compared to RECIST 1.1 evaluation, the proportion of PR evaluated by Choi and VIU was significantly higher (χ(2)=16.861, P<0.001), whereas the proportion of SD was significantly lower (χ(2)=24.089, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the proportions of PR and SD between VIU and Choi criteria (χ(2)=0.887, P=0.346). Consistency and correlation analysis showed that the VIU and Choi evaluation criteria presented the highest consistency and correlation (Kappa=0.912, P<0.001; r=0.916, P<0.001). Conclusion: VIU is a feasible parameter for the evaluation of chemotherapy efficacy in advanced gastric cancer, and may be more sensitive than the evaluation criteria based on maximum diameter or change of CT value in the tumor.

The effect of visuospatial resolution on discharge variability among motor units and force-discharge relation

Although force steadiness varies with visuospatial information, accountable motor unit (MU) behaviors are not fully understood. This study investigated the modulation of MU discharges and force-discharge relation due to variations in the spatial resolution of visual feedback, with a particular focus on discharge variability among MUs. Fourteen young adults produced isometric force at 10% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) through index abduction, under the conditions of force trajectory displayed with low visual gain (LVG) and high visual gain (HVG). Together with smaller and more complex force fluctuations, HVG resulted in greater variabilities of the mean interspike interval and discharge irregularity among MUs than LVG did. Estimated via smoothening of a cumulative spike train of all MUs, global discharge rate was tuned to visual gain, with a more complex global discharge rate and a lower force-discharge relation in the HVG condition. These higher discharge variabilities were linked to larger variance of the common drive received by MUs for regulation of muscle force with higher visuospatial information. In summary, higher visuospatial information improves force steadiness with more complex force fluctuations, underlying joint effects of low-pass filter property of the musculotendon complex and central modulation of discharge variability among MUs.

Risk of Lead Exposure from Transport Stations to Human Health: A Case Study in the Highland Province of Vietnam

Lead (Pb) is a heavy metal that negatively affects human health. Many studies have shown the relationship between lead exposure and various human activities, of which automobile service stations with gasoline emissions are considered the main cause. However, a limited number of studies have specifically considered lead exposure from automobile stations in Vietnam, as well as its impact on human activities and the surrounding natural resources. The objective of this study was to assess the possible risks of lead exposure to the surrounding agricultural and non-agricultural farms of a bus station located in the center of Dalat city, Lamdong province, Vietnam. To address this objective, 45 samples were collected from the soil, irrigated water resources, and vegetable crops of areas both close to and far away from the bus station. These samples were tested using the atomic absorption spectrometry technique. Our findings demonstrated higher lead concentration levels from all three types of samples collected from areas near the bus station. Of which, soil and water samples showed higher than normal exposure values of lead, but these were still under the allowed limits established by the Vietnam standard. Different from the soil and water, vegetable samples surrounding the bus station presented greater lead contamination than the permitted limit. High risk quotient (RQ) indexes were detected to point out that accumulative consumption of leaded vegetables over time could cause lead poisoning and harm human health. This study not only provides significant inferential evidence of the risk of lead exposure to agricultural activities and human health in Vietnam, but also delivers a real-life example for a real-world context.

Cooperative action of APJ and α1A-adrenergic receptor in vascular smooth muscle cells induces vasoconstriction

The apelin receptor (APJ), a receptor for apelin and elabela/apela, induces vasodilation and vasoconstriction in blood vessels. However, the prolonged effects of increased APJ-mediated signalling, involving vasoconstriction, in smooth muscle cells have not been fully characterized. Here, we investigated the vasoactive effects of APJ gain of function under the control of the smooth muscle actin (SMA) gene promoter in mice. Transgenic overexpression of APJ (SMA-APJ) conferred sensitivity to blood pressure and vascular contraction induced by apelin administration in vivo. Interestingly, ex vivo experiments showed that apelin markedly increased the vasoconstriction of isolated aorta induced by noradrenaline (NA), an agonist for α- and β-adrenergic receptors, or phenylephrine, a specific agonist for α1-adrenergic receptor (α1-AR). In addition, intracellular calcium influx was augmented by apelin with NA in HEK293T cells expressing APJ and α1A-AR. To examine the cooperative action of APJ and α1A-AR in the regulation of vasoconstriction, we developed α1A-AR deficient mice using a genome-editing technique, and then established SMA-APJ/α1A-AR-KO mice. In the latter mouse line, aortic vasoconstriction induced by a specific agonist for α1A-AR, A-61603, were significantly less than in SMA-APJ mice. These results suggest that the APJ-enhanced response requires α1A-AR to contract vessels coordinately.

Crystalline characteristics of annealed AlN films by pulsed laser treatment for solidly mounted resonator applications

AlN films were deposited on Si substrates using a reactive RF magnetron sputtering process and then the films were annealed by using different laser powers and wavelengths (355 nm, 532 nm and 1064 nm). For all three laser systems, the (002) peak intensity was obviously improved following laser irradiation. The improvement in the crystalline property was particularly obtained in the AlN film processed at 355 nm. In particular, given the use of the optimal laser power (0.025 W), the (002) peak intensity was 58.7% higher than that of the as-deposited film. The resonant frequency and 3 dB bandwidth of a SMR filter with an unprocessed AlN film were found to be 2850 MHz and 227.81 MHz, respectively. Following laser treatment with a wavelength of 1064 nm and a power of 0.25 W, the resonant frequency changed from 2850 to 2858 MHz. Moreover, 3 dB bandwidth changed from 227.81 to 202.49 MHz and the return loss of the filter reduced from 17.28 to 16.48 dB. Overall, the results thus show that the frequency response of the SMR filter can be adjusted and the return loss reduced by means of laser treatment with an appropriate wavelength.

[Robotic versus laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy: a retrospective single-center study]

Objective: To compare the short-term clinical outcomes and cost differences of robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP) versus laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP). Methods: The retrospective descriptive study was adopted.The clinical data of 158 patients underwent minimally invasive distal pancreatectomy who were admitted to Fujian Medical University Union Hospital between January 2016 and July 2018 were collected.A 1∶1 matched propensity score (PSM) analysis was performed for the RDP group and the LDP group.Observed indexes included operative time, blood loss, spleen-preserving rate, postoperative hospital stay, morbidity, incidence of pancreatic fistula and hospital costs. T test or rank sum test was used to compare measurement data, χ(2) test or Fisher exact test was used to compare count data. Results: A well-balanced cohort of 41 patients was analyzed.There were 14 males and 27 females in the RDP group, aged (45.2±16.4)years. There were 15 males and 26 females in the LDP group, aged (47.4±14.9) years.The operation time was (209.7±52.9) minutes for the RDP group and (186.5±56.7) minutes for the LDP group (P=0.073). Median blood loss was less in RDP (50(15-175)ml) compared with LDP (100(50-350)ml) (Z=-2.689, P=0.007). Thirty-eight cases of non-malignant diseases were observed in each group and spleen-preserving rate was higher in RDP (76.3%) compared to LDP(44.7%) (χ(2)=7.930, P=0.005).Postoperative hospital stay was similar in the RDP group and the LDP group (RDP: 9.4 days vs. LDP: 10.6 days; P=0.372). The overall morbidity and incidence of pancreatic fistula major complication rates (RDP: 12.2% vs. LDP: 14.6%, P=0.746; RDP: 7.3% vs. LDP: 9.8%, P=1.000) were similar.Total cost of RDP group was higher than that of LDP group ((80 563.7±10 641.8) yuan vs. (57 792.8±8 943.0) yuan, t=4.515, P<0.01). Conclusions: Both RDP and LDP are safe and feasible procedures. RDP is more expensive, but RDP is associated with significantly less blood loss and higher spleen-preserving rate, which is more suitable for the non-malignant diseases of pancreatic body and tail with an expectation of splenic preservation.

Salispheres from Different Major Salivary Glands for Glandular Regeneration

Dysfunctional salivary glands (SGs) are a clinical challenge due to the lack of effective treatments. Cell therapy with stem/progenitor cells may improve this situation by providing promising therapeutic solutions. Therefore, exploring abundant cellular sources is important. Three major pairs of SGs are located in different anatomic regions: the parotid glands, the submandibular glands, and the sublingual glands. Although SG stem/progenitor cells can be isolated and cultivated from all major SGs as salispheres, the differences among SG origins remain unclear. In this study, salispheres were successfully isolated from all major SGs. The salispheres demonstrated unique cellular features that originated from their native tissues. The characteristic expression profiles and cellular features of SG stem cells were demonstrated in all salispheres. When they were transplanted into irradiated animals, the salispheres were all capable of improving the saliva secretion that was disrupted by irradiation. Typical histologic structures could be observed in most parts of the treated glands, and the fibrotic environments of irradiated submandibular glands were remodeled by all salispheres regardless of origins. This study characterized the cellular features and in vivo effects of salispheres that were derived from different anatomic origins. The results suggest the possibility of functional redundancy among distinct pairs of major SGs, which is useful for the design of cell therapy to treat dysfunctional glandular organs.

Improving Precision Force Control With Low-Frequency Error Amplification Feedback: Behavioral and Neurophysiological Mechanisms

Although error amplification (EA) feedback has been shown to improve performance on visuomotor tasks, the challenge of EA is that it concurrently magnifies task-irrelevant information that may impair visuomotor control. The purpose of this study was to improve the force control in a static task by preclusion of high-oscillatory components in EA feedback that cannot be timely used for error correction by the visuomotor system. Along with motor unit behaviors and corticomuscular coherence, force fluctuations (Fc) were modeled with non-linear SDA to contrast the reliance of the feedback process and underlying neurophysiological mechanisms by using real feedback, EA, and low-frequency error amplification (LF-EA). During the static force task in the experiment, the EA feedback virtually potentiated the size of visual error, whereas the LF-EA did not channel high-frequency errors above 0.8 Hz into the amplification process. The results showed that task accuracy was greater with the LF-EA than with the real and EA feedback modes, and that LF-EA led to smaller and more complex Fc. LF-EA generally led to smaller SDA variables of Fc (critical time points, critical point of Fc, the short-term effective diffusion coefficient, and short-term exponent scaling) than did real feedback and EA. The use of LF-EA feedback increased the irregularity of the ISIs of MUs but decreased the RMS of the mean discharge rate, estimated with pooled MU spike trains. Beta-range EEG–EMG coherence spectra (13–35 Hz) in the LF-EA condition were the greatest among the three feedback conditions. In summary, amplification of low-frequency errors improves force control by shifting the relative significances of the feedforward and feedback processes. The functional benefit arises from the increase in the common descending drive to promote a stable state of MU discharges.

[Prevalence of drug resistance in treatment-naive HIV infected men who have sex with men in Guangzhou, 2008-2015]

Objective: To understand the prevalence of drug resistance in treatment-naive HIV infected men who have sex with (MSM) in Guangzhou. Methods: HIV-1 RNA were extracted from the serum specimens of the MSM newly confirmed to be HIV-1 positive, living in Guangzhou and receiving no anti-viral therapy from 2008 to 2015. HIV-1 pol gene segments, including full protease and part reverse transcriptase, were amplified by nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (nested-PCR) and sequenced by Sanger. Subsequently, the sequence data were submitted to Stanford University HIV Drug Resistance Database for drug resistance analysis. Results: Among 2 283 HIV infected MSM, HIV-1 pol gene segments were obtained from the serum samples of 1 986 HIV infected MSM aged 16-84 (30.18±8.24) years. Among them, the unmarried accounted for 74.17% (1 473/1 986), those of Han ethnic group accounted for 90.64% (1 800/1 986), those with education level of college or above accounted for 49.65% (986/1 986), those with education level of senior high school or secondary school accounted for 27.14% (539/1 986), those with education level of junior high school or below accounted for 20.89% (415/1 986). The distribution of subtypes was predominated by CRF07_BC (38.22%, 759/1 986) and CRF01_AE (34.49%, 685/1 986). The overall prevalence of drug resistance was 3.32% (66/1 986). The prevalence of resistance to protease inhibitors (PIs), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) were 1.36%(27/1 986), 0.65% (13/1 986) and 1.61% (32/1 986), respectively. Subtype B had higher resistance to PIs, NRTIs and NNRTIs and subtype CRF55_01B had highest resistance to NNRTIs compared with other subtypes. In subtype B, the resistant rates to D4T, EFV and NVP were highest (all 4.17%, 5/120), followed by those to NFV, AZT and RPV (all 3.33%, 4/120). In subtype CRF55_01B, the resistant rates to EFV and NVP were highest (all 5.50%, 16/291), followed by those to ETR and RPV (all 5.15%, 15/291). Conclusions: The prevalence of drug resistance in treatment-naive HIV infected MSM in Guangzhou remained at low level and current antiretroviral drugs are generally effective. However, subtype B and CRF55_01B have higher drug resistance.

C-Terminal Part of Glutamate-Ammonia-Ligase Adenyltransferase Gene Identified by RAPD-HRM with 3H Primer for E. Coli Screening

A single random oligonucleotide 3H primer has been previously applied in random-amplified- polymorphic-DNA (RAPD)-PCR to distinguish stocked bacteria E. coli within a cocktail mixture also containing Enterococcus faecalis, Bifidobacterium longum and Ruminococcus gnavus. In this study, we demonstrate that a 702 base pair (bp) gene fragment can be amplified as a unique pattern by RAPD-PCR using a 3H primer in human faeces containing E. coli. This unique 702 bp amplicon contained a 687 bp gene fragment identified as the C-terminal region of the glutamate-ammonia-ligase adenyltransferase (glnE) gene of E. coli. By high-resolution melt (HRM) analysis, a mean melt-curve temperature of this 702 bp amplicon was determined to be approximately 88.1 ± 0.22 degrees Celsius (°C). A combination of RAPD with HRM in one single reaction based on this amplicon can achieve semi-quantitative detection of up to 102 CFU/ml of E. coli. To increase the signal intensity of HRM, a primer pair capable of screening E. coli directly from fresh human faeces was re-designed from the 687 bp gene segment, giving a mean peak melt-curve temperature at 88.35 ± 0.11 °C. Finally, single-nucleotide polymorphisms of this 687 bp gene segment were analysed for pathogenic E. coli strains, including UMN026, O83:H1, O104:H4, O157:H7 and O169:H41. We conclude that this 687 bp segment of the glnE gene has a high potential for screening of human faecal E. coli, including pathogenic strains, in contaminated food and water.

Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of invasive mould infections: A multicenter, retrospective analysis in five Asian countries

Formal, large-scale, multicenter studies of invasive mould infection (IMI) in Asia are rare. This 1-year, retrospective study was designed to assess the incidence and clinical determinants of IMI in centers in five countries (Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, China, India). Patients treated in a single year (2012) were identified through discharge diagnoses, microbiology, and histopathology logs, and entered based on published definitions of IMI. A total of 155 cases were included (median age 54 years; 47.7% male). Of these, 47.7% had proven disease; the remainder had probable IMI. The most frequent host factors were prolonged steroid use (39.4%) and recent neutropenia (38.7%). Common underlying conditions included diabetes mellitus (DM; 30.9%), acute myeloid leukemia (19.4%), and rheumatologic conditions (11.6%). DM was more common in patients with no recent history of neutropenia or prolonged steroid use (P = .006). The lung was the most frequently involved site (78.7%), demonstrating a range of features on computed tomography (CT). Aspergillus was the most common mould cultured (71.6%), primarily A. fumigatus and A. flavus, although proportions varied in different centers. The most often used antifungal for empiric therapy was conventional amphotericin. Ninety-day mortality was 32.9%. This is the first multicenter Asian study of IMI not limited to specific patient groups or diagnostic methods. It suggests that DM and rheumatologic conditions be considered as risk factors for IMI and demonstrates that IMI should not be ruled out in patients whose chest features on CT do not fit the conventional criteria.

Pharmacologically upregulated carcinoembryonic antigen-expression enhances the cytolytic activity of genetically-modified chimeric antigen receptor NK-92MI against colorectal cancer cells

BACKGROUND

The natural killer cell line, NK-92MI, is cytotoxic against various types of cancer. The aim of this study was to develop chimeric antigen receptor-modified (CAR) NK-92MI cells targeting carcinoembryonic antigen-expressing (CEA) tumours and increase killing efficacy by pharmacologically modifying CEA-expression.

RESULT

We generated anti-CEA-CAR NK-92MI cells by retroviral vector transduction. This genetically-modified cell line recognised and lysed high CEA-expressing tumour cell lines (LS174T) at 47.54 ± 12.60% and moderate CEA-expressing tumour cell lines (WiDr) at 31.14 ± 16.92% at a 5:1 effector: target (E/T) ratio. The cell line did not lyse low CEA-expressing tumour cells (HCT116) as they did their parental cells (NK-92MI cells). The histone deacetylase-inhibitor (HDAC) sodium butyrate (NaB) and the methylation-inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5-AZA), as epigenetic modifiers, induced CEA-expression in HCT116 and WiDr cells. Although the IC₅₀ of 5 fluorouracil (5-FU) increased, both cell lines showed collateral sensitivity to anti-CEA-CAR NK-92MI cells. The cytolytic function of anti-CEA-CAR NK-92MI cells was increased from 22.99 ± 2.04% of lysis background to 69.20 ± 11.92% after NaB treatment, and 69.70 ± 9.93% after 5-AZA treatment, at a 10:1 E/T ratio in HCT116 cells. The WiDr cells showed similar trend, from 22.99 ± 4.01% of lysis background to 70.69 ± 10.19% after NaB treatment, and 59.44 ± 10.92% after 5-AZA treatment, at a 10:1 E/T ratio.

CONCLUSIONS

This data indicates that the effector-ability of anti-CEA-CAR NK-92MI increased in a CEA-dependent manner. The combination of epigenetic-modifiers like HDAC-inhibitors, methylation-inhibitors, and adoptive-transfer of ex vivo-expanded allogeneic-NK cells may be clinically applicable to patients with in 5-FU resistant condition.

Effects of normoxic and hypoxic exercise training on the bactericidal capacity and subsequent apoptosis of neutrophils in sedentary men

Phagocytosis and oxidative burst are essential mechanisms of innate immunity by which neutrophils eliminate invading pathogens. Afterwards, phagocytic neutrophils are dissipated by facilitating apoptosis to control inflammation. This study investigates how exercise training with or without hypoxic exposure affects the bactericidal activity and subsequent apoptosis of neutrophils following strenuous exercise. A total of 60 healthy, sedentary men were randomly divided into four groups (n = 15 in each group), who were exposed to 21% O₂ [normoxic control (NC)] or 15% O₂ [hypoxic control (HC)] at rest or were trained at 50% of peak work rate at 21% O₂ [normoxic training (NT)] or 15% O₂ [hypoxic training (HT)] for 30 min/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks. Before the intervention, acute strenuous exercise (SE) enhanced the phagocytosis of Escherichia coli (E. coli) by neutrophils and the release of neutrophil oxidant products in response to E. coli, accompanied by increases in the expression of adhesion molecules (CD62L, CD11b, and CD11a), an opsonic receptor (FcγIIIBR), and complement receptors (C1qRp and CD5aR) on neutrophils. Subsequently, the SE facilitated caspase-3 activation and phosphatidylserine exposure in E. coli-stimulated neutrophils. Furthermore, 4 weeks of HT promoted the expressions of adhesion molecules and opsonic/complement receptors on neutrophils, and it also augmented the bactericidal and apoptotic activities of neutrophils at rest or after SE. However, NT, HC, and NC did not influence these neutrophil-related immune responses to strenuous exercise. Therefore, we conclude that the HT regimen effectively promotes the bactericidal capacity of neutrophils, and facilitates their subsequent apoptosis both at rest and following SE.

Novel Behavioral and Neural Evidences for Age-Related changes in Force complexity

This study investigated age-related changes in behavioral and neural complexity for a polyrhythmic movement, which appeared to be an exception to the loss of complexity hypothesis. Young (n = 15; age = 24.2 years) and older (15; 68.1 years) adults performed low-level force-tracking with isometric index abduction to couple a compound sinusoidal target. Multiscale entropy (MSE) of tracking force and inter-spike interval (ISI) of motor unit (MU) in the first dorsal interosseus muscle were assessed. The MSE area of tracking force at shorter time scales of older adults was greater (more complex) than that of young adults, whereas an opposite trend (less complex for the elders) was noted at longer time scales. The MSE area of force fluctuations (the stochastic component of the tracking force) were generally smaller (less complex) for older adults. Along with greater mean and coefficient of ISI, the MSE area of the cumulative discharge rate of elders tended to be lower (less complex) than that of young adults. In conclusion, age-related complexity changes in polyrhythmic force-tracking depended on the time scale. The adaptive behavioral consequences could be multifactorial origins of the age-related impairment in rate coding, increased discharge noises, and lower discharge complexity of pooled MUs.

Search for the Exotic Meson X(5568) with the Collider Detector at Fermilab

A search for the exotic meson X(5568) decaying into the B_{s}^{0}π^{±} final state is performed using data corresponding to 9.6  fb^{-1} from pp[over ¯] collisions at sqrt[s]=1960  GeV recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. No evidence for this state is found and an upper limit of 6.7% at the 95% confidence level is set on the fraction of B_{s}^{0} produced through the X(5568)→B_{s}^{0}π^{±} process.

Robust, tunable, and high purity triggered single photon source at room temperature using a nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond in an open microcavity

We report progress in the development of tunable room temperature triggered single photon sources based on single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in nanodiamond coupled to open access optical micro-cavities. The feeding of fluorescence from an NV centre into the cavity mode increases the spectral density of the emission and results in an output stream of triggered single photons with spectral line width of order 1 nm, tunable in the range 640 - 700 nm. We record single photon purities exceeding 96% and estimated device efficiencies up to 3%. We compare performance using plano-concave microcavities with radii of curvature from 25 μm to 4 μm and show that up to 17% of the total emission is fed into the TEM₀₀ mode. Pulsed Hanbury-Brown Twiss (HBT) interferometry shows that an improvement in single photon purity is facilitated due to the increased spectral density.

Positive expression of Midkine predicts early recurrence and poor prognosis of initially resectable combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma

Background

Post-surgical prognosis is usually poor for combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (CHCC-CC), a rare primary liver cancer. Although midkine (MK) is a prognostic biomarker for several known cancers, it is not known whether it can be used as such in resectable CHCC-CC. This study examined whether MK expression can predict recurrence and survival in patients with resectable CHCC-CC.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled 52 patients with resectable CHCC-CC who had received curative hepatic resections. MK expression was assessed in post-surgical immunohistochemical studies of specimens in paraffin blocks. Clinical outcomes were analyzed from medical records.

Results

Two-year disease-free and three-year overall survival rates were 42.1% and 44.6%. MK was expressed in 30 patients. Univariate analysis showed patients positively expressing MK had a significantly poorer 2-year disease free and three-year overall survival. Multivariate analysis found positive MK expression independently predicted recurrence.

Conclusions

Positive expression of MK predicts poor prognosis in patients with resectable CHCC-CC.

Combined Forward-Backward Asymmetry Measurements in Top-Antitop Quark Production at the Tevatron

The CDF and D0 experiments at the Fermilab Tevatron have measured the asymmetry between yields of forward- and backward-produced top and antitop quarks based on their rapidity difference and the asymmetry between their decay leptons. These measurements use the full data sets collected in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV. We report the results of combinations of the inclusive asymmetries and their differential dependencies on relevant kinematic quantities. The combined inclusive asymmetry is A_{FB}^{tt[over ¯]}=0.128±0.025. The combined inclusive and differential asymmetries are consistent with recent standard model predictions.

A Rare Case of Douche Injury Sustained during Water Recreation Activities: More Protection will Mean less Injury

Douche injury is a rare consequence of water recreation activities; it can manifest as vaginal laceration or even haemoperitoneum. Such severe trauma can cause massive bleeding and hypovolaemic shock; therefore, it is potentially life threatening. Herein, we present the case of a patient who had vaginal laceration and haemoperitoneum due to water recreation activities; surgery was performed to stop the bleeding. We suggest wearing a rubber or neoprene wetsuit during water recreation activities to prevent such potentially lethal injury.