Neurological complications of COVID-19

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused several pandemic peaks worldwide due to its high variability and infectiousness, and COVID-19 has become a long-standing global public health problem. There is growing evidence that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) frequently causes multi-organ injuries and more severe neurological manifestations. Therefore, increased awareness of possible neurological complications is beneficial in preventing and mitigating the impact of long-term sequelae and improving the prognostic outcome of critically ill patients with COVID-19. Here, we review the main pathways of SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion and the potential mechanisms causing neurological damage. We also discuss in detail neurological complications, aiming to provide cutting-edge basis for subsequent related basic research and clinical studies of diagnosis and treatment.

Observation of Three Charmoniumlike States with J^{PC}=1^{--} in e^{+}e^{-}→D^{*0}D^{*-}π^{+}

The Born cross sections of the process e^{+}e^{-}→D^{*0}D^{*-}π^{+} at center-of-mass energies from 4.189 to 4.951 GeV are measured for the first time. The data samples used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 17.9  fb^{-1} and were collected by the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring. Three enhancements around 4.20, 4.47, and 4.67 GeV are visible. The resonances have masses of 4209.6±4.7±5.9  MeV/c^{2}, 4469.1±26.2±3.6  MeV/c^{2}, and 4675.3±29.5±3.5  MeV/c^{2} and widths of 81.6±17.8±9.0  MeV, 246.3±36.7±9.4  MeV, and 218.3±72.9±9.3  MeV, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The first and third resonances are consistent with the ψ(4230) and ψ(4660) states, respectively, while the second one is compatible with the ψ(4500) observed in the e^{+}e^{-}→K^{+}K^{-}J/ψ process. These three charmoniumlike ψ states are observed in the e^{+}e^{-}→D^{*0}D^{*-}π^{+} process for the first time.

Measurement of Sequential ϒ Suppression in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV with the STAR Experiment

We report on measurements of sequential ϒ suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0%-60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors (R_{AA}), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to p+p collisions, for ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) are 0.40±0.03(stat)±0.03(sys)±0.09(norm) and 0.26±0.08(stat)±0.02(sys)±0.06(norm), respectively, while the upper limit of the ϒ(3S) R_{AA} is 0.17 at a 95% confidence level. This provides experimental evidence that the ϒ(3S) is significantly more suppressed than the ϒ(1S) at RHIC. The level of suppression for ϒ(1S) is comparable to that observed at the much higher collision energy at the Large Hadron Collider. These results point to the creation of a medium at RHIC whose temperature is sufficiently high to strongly suppress excited ϒ states.

[Effect of hemoperfusion on protein energy wasting and long-term prognosis in patients on maintenance hemodialysis]

Objective: To explore the effect of hemoperfusion (HP) combined with hemodialysis (HD) (HD+HP) on protein energy wasting (PEW) and long-term prognosis in patients on maintenance HD (MHD). Methods: A prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted. Adult MHD patients who completed PEW assessment and underwent regular dialysis between July 2015 and July 2021 at 23 hemodialysis centers in Guizhou Province were selected. Demographic characteristics, physical indicators, laboratory indicators, 3-day diet diary and HP treatment data of the subjects were collected. The patients were divided into different groups according to the presence or absence of HP, the frequency of HP treatment and the type of cartridge, and then relevant indicators were compared. Multivariate logistic regression model and Cox proportional regression model were used to analyze the influence of HP treatment on PEW risk in MHD patients. Meanwhile, Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot the survival curve. Results: A total of 4 623 MHD patients (2 789 males and 1 834 females) aged (53.7±15.9) years were included in the study, with a median dialysis age of 64.3 (44.3, 92.3) months. There were 3 429 (74.2%) MHD patients treated with HD+HP, and 1 194 patients (25.8%) were not treated with HP. According to the 2008 diagnostic criteria of the International Society for Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM), the incidence of PEW was 26.0% (1 204/4 623). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that female (OR=2.48, 95%CI: 1.55-3.95, P<0.001), diabetes (OR=1.75, 95%CI: 1.08-2.83, P=0.024) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (OR=1.02, 95%CI: 1.01-1.03, P=0.003) were risk factors for PEW, while treatment with HD+HP (OR=0.51, 95%CI: 0.31-0.87, P=0.012) and elevated triglyceride levels (OR=0.62, 95%CI: 0.48-0.80, P<0.001) were protective factors. Cox hazard ratio regression showed that among different HP treatment frequencies and cartridge types, 2 times/month (HR=0.40, 95%CI: 0.17-0.95, P=0.037), 3 times/month (HR=0.44, 95%CI: 0.23-0.85, P=0.014), 4 times/month (HR=0.54, 95%CI: 0.34-0.85, P=0.008), HA130 (HR=0.57, 95%CI: 0.36-0.89, P=0.014) and HA230 (HR=0.30, 95%CI: 0.15-0.63, P=0.001) had protective effects on the occurrence of PEW in MHD patients. The all-cause mortality rate was 11.3% (521/4 623) at 33 (24, 48) months of follow-up. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients undergoing 4 times/month HP treatment (χ²=36.78, P<0.001) and using HA230 (χ²=9.46, P=0.002) had the highest survival rate. Conclusion: Treatment with HD+HP is a protective factor for PEW in patients with MHD, and 4 times/month HP treatment or HA230 significantly reduces the risk of PEW and all-cause mortality in patients with MHD.

Evidence for the Cusp Effect in η' Decays into ηπ^{0}π^{0}

Using a sample of 4.3×10^{5} η^{'}→ηπ^{0}π^{0} events selected from the ten billion J/ψ event dataset collected with the BESIII detector, we study the decay η^{'}→ηπ^{0}π^{0} within the framework of nonrelativistic effective field theory. Evidence for a structure at π^{+}π^{-} mass threshold is observed in the invariant mass spectrum of π^{0}π^{0} with a statistical significance of around 3.5σ, which is consistent with the cusp effect as predicted by the nonrelativistic effective field theory. After introducing the amplitude for describing the cusp effect, the ππ scattering length combination a_{0}-a_{2} is determined to be 0.226±0.060_{stat}±0.013_{syst}, which is in good agreement with theoretical calculation of 0.2644±0.0051.

Beam Energy Dependence of Fifth- and Sixth-Order Net-Proton Number Fluctuations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

We report the beam energy and collision centrality dependence of fifth and sixth order cumulants (C_{5}, C_{6}) and factorial cumulants (κ_{5}, κ_{6}) of net-proton and proton number distributions, from center-of-mass energy (sqrt[s_{NN}]) 3 GeV to 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. Cumulant ratios of net-proton (taken as proxy for net-baryon) distributions generally follow the hierarchy expected from QCD thermodynamics, except for the case of collisions at 3 GeV. The measured values of C_{6}/C_{2} for 0%-40% centrality collisions show progressively negative trend with decreasing energy, while it is positive for the lowest energy studied. These observed negative signs are consistent with QCD calculations (for baryon chemical potential, μ_{B}≤110  MeV) which contains the crossover transition range. In addition, for energies above 7.7 GeV, the measured proton κ_{n}, within uncertainties, does not support the two-component (Poisson+binomial) shape of proton number distributions that would be expected from a first-order phase transition. Taken in combination, the hyperorder proton number fluctuations suggest that the structure of QCD matter at high baryon density, μ_{B}∼750  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3  GeV is starkly different from those at vanishing μ_{B}∼24  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV and higher collision energies.

[The role of sinusoidal endothelial cells in liver injury: a review]

Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) locate on the surface of hepatic sinusoids. As the first line of defense between the liver and blood, LSECs are the most abundant non-parenchymal cells in the liver. Under physiological conditions, LSECs may induce liver immune tolerance through participating in substance transport and metabolic waste removal, thereby maintaining liver homeostasis, and under pathological conditions, LSECs may promote liver immune response via antigen presentation. LSECs have been found to play a crucial regulatory role in maintaining the balance between liver regeneration and liver fibrosis. This article reviews the progress of researches on LSECs functions, LSECs changes in liver injury, signal pathways associated with regulation of LSECs functions, and the interaction between LSECs and other types of cells in the liver, aiming to elucidate the function of LSECs and their roles in liver diseases.

[A real world study of anti-IgE monoclonal antibody in the treatment of allergic united airway disease]

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of anti-IgE monoclonal antibody (omazumab) in the treatment of allergic united airway disease (UAD) in the real-wold. Methods: Retrospective cohort study summarizes the case data of patients with allergic united airway disease who were treated with anti IgE monoclonal antibody (omalizumab) for more than 16 weeks from March 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022 in the Peking University First Hospital.The allergic UAD is defined as allergic asthma combined with allergic rhinitis (AA+AR) or allergic asthma combined with chronic sinusitis with nasal polyps (AA+CRSwNP) or allergic asthma combined with allergic rhinitis and nasal polyps (AA+AR+CRSwNP). The control of asthma was evaluated by asthma control test (ACT), lung function test and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). The AR was assessed by total nasal symptom score (TNSS). The CRSwNP was evaluated by nasal visual analogue scale (n-VAS), sino-nasal outcome test-22 (SNOT-22), nasal polyps score (TPS) and Lund-Mackay sinus CT grading system. The global evaluation of omalizumab for the treatment of allergic UADwas performed by Global Evaluation of Treatment Effectiveness(GETE).The drug-related side effects were also recorded. Matched t test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to compare the score changes of IgE monoclonal antibody (omazumab) before and after treatment, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influencing factors of IgE monoclonal antibody (omazumab) response. Results: A total of 117 patients with UAD were enrolled, ranging in age from 19 to 77 years; The median age of patients was 48.7 years; Among them, 60 were male, ranging from 19 to 77 years old, with a median age of 49.9 years; There were 57 females, ranging from 19 to 68 years old, with a median age of 47.2 years. There were 32 cases in AA+AR subgroup, 59 cases in AA+CRSwNP subgroup, and 26 cases in AA+AR+CRSwNP subgroup. The total serum IgE level was 190.5 (103.8,391.3) IU/ml. The treatment course of anti IgE monoclonal antibody was 24 (16, 32) weeks. Compared with pre-treatment, omalizumab increased ACT from 20.0 (19.5,22.0) to 24.0 (23.0,25.0) (Z=-8.537, P<0.001), increased pre-bronchodilator FEV1 from 90.2 (74.8,103.0)% predicted value to 95.4 (83.2,106.0)% predicted value (Z=-5.315,P<0.001), increased FEV1/FVC from 80.20 (66.83,88.38)% to 82.72 (71.26,92.25)% (Z=-4.483,P<0.001), decreased FeNO from(49.1±24.8) ppb to (32.8±24.4) ppb (t=5.235, P<0.001), decreased TNSS from (6.5±2.6)to (2.4±1.9) (t=14.171, P<0.001), decreased n-VAS from (6.8±1.2) to (3.4±2.0)(t=14.448, P<0.001), decreased SNOT-22 from (40.0±7.9) to (21.3±10.2)(t=15.360, P<0.001), decreased TPS from (4.1±0.8) to (2.4±1.0)(t=14.718, P<0.001) and decreased Lund-Mackay CT score from (6.0±1.3) to (3.1±1.6)(t=17.012, P<0.001). The global response rate to omalizumab was 67.5%(79/117). The response rate in AA+AR (90.6%,29/32) was significantly higher than that in AA+CRSwNP (61.0%,36/59) and AA+AR+CRSwNP (53.8%,14/26) subgroups (χ²=11.144,P=0.004). Only 4 patients (3.4%,4/117) had mild side effects. Conclusion: The real-world study showed favorable effectiveness and safety of anti-IgE monoclonal antibody for treatment of allergic UAD. To provide basis for preventing the progress and precise treatment of allergic UAD.

Transcriptomic analyses of joint tissues during osteoarthritis development in a rat model reveal dysregulated mechanotransduction and extracellular matrix pathways

OBJECTIVE

Transcriptomic changes in joint tissues during the development of osteoarthritis (OA) are of interest for the discovery of biomarkers and mechanisms of disease. The objective of this study was to use the rat medial meniscus transection (MMT) model to discover stage and tissue-specific transcriptomic changes.

DESIGN

Sham or MMT surgeries were performed in mature rats. Cartilage, menisci and synovium were scored for histopathological changes at 2, 4 and 6 weeks post-surgery and processed for RNA-sequencing. Differentially expressed genes (DEG) were used to identify pathways and mechanisms. Published transcriptomic datasets from animal models and human OA were used to confirm and extend present findings.

RESULTS

The total number of DEGs was already high at 2 weeks (723 in meniscus), followed by cartilage (259) and synovium (42) and declined to varying degrees in meniscus and synovium but increased in cartilage at 6 weeks. The most upregulated genes included tenascins. The 'response to mechanical stimulus' and extracellular matrix-related pathways were enriched in both cartilage and meniscus. Pathways that were enriched in synovium at 4 weeks indicate processes related to synovial hyperplasia and fibrosis. Synovium also showed upregulation of IL-11 and several MMPs. The mechanical stimulus pathway included upregulation of the mechanoreceptors PIEZO1, PIEZO2 and TRPV4 and nerve growth factor. Analysis of data from prior RNA-sequencing studies of animal models and human OA support these findings.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate several shared pathways that are affected during OA in cartilage and meniscus and support the role of mechanotransduction and other pathways in OA pathogenesis.

Multi-Stage Adaptive Spline Autofocus (MASA) with a Learned Metric for Deformable Motion Compensation in Interventional Cone-Beam CT

Purpose

Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is widespread in abdominal interventional imaging, but its long acquisition time makes it susceptible to patient motion. Image-based autofocus has shown success in CBCT deformable motion compensation, via deep autofocus metrics and multi-region optimization, but it is challenged by the large parameter dimensionality required to capture intricate motion trajectories. This work leverages the differentiable nature of deep autofocus metrics to build a novel optimization strategy, Multi-Stage Adaptive Spine Autofocus (MASA), for compensation of complex deformable motion in abdominal CBCT.

Methods

MASA poses the autofocus problem as a multi-stage adaptive sampling strategy of the motion trajectory, sampled with Hermite spline basis with variable amplitude and knot temporal positioning. The adaptive method permits simultaneous optimization of the sampling phase, local temporal sampling density, and time-dependent amplitude of the motion trajectory. The optimization is performed in a multi-stage schedule with increasing number of knots that progressively accommodates complex trajectories in late stages, preconditioned by coarser components from early stages, and with minimal increase in dimensionality. MASA was evaluated in controlled simulation experiments with two types of motion trajectories: i) combinations of slow drifts with sudden jerk (sigmoid) motion; and ii) combinations of periodic motion sources of varying frequency into multi-frequency trajectories. Further validation was obtained in clinical data from liver CBCT featuring motion of contrast-enhanced vessels, and soft-tissue structures.

Results

The adaptive sampling strategy provided successful motion compensation in sigmoid trajectories, compared to fixed sampling strategies (mean SSIM increase of 0.026 compared to 0.011). Inspection of the estimated motion showed the capability of MASA to automatically allocate larger sampling density to parts of the scan timeline featuring sudden motion, effectively accommodating complex motion without increasing the problem dimension. Experiments on multi-frequency trajectories with 3-stage MASA (5, 10, and 15 knots) yielded a twofold SSIM increase compared to single-stage autofocus with 15 knots (0.076 vs 0.040, respectively). Application of MASA to clinical datasets resulted in simultaneous improvement on the delineation of both contrast-enhanced vessels and soft-tissue structures in the liver.

Conclusion

A new autofocus framework, MASA, was developed including a novel multi-stage technique for adaptive temporal sampling of the motion trajectory in combination with fully differentiable deep autofocus metrics. This novel adaptive sampling approach is a crucial step for application of deformable motion compensation to complex temporal motion trajectories.

Dimethyl fumarate attenuates MSU-induced gouty arthritis by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and oxidative stress

OBJECTIVE

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) has shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. However, the effects of DMF on gouty arthritis remain elusive, and the underlying mechanism is not understood. In this study, we aim to investigate the role of DMF in gouty arthritis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Mice were gavage with DMF for consecutive 7 days at two different doses (10 mg/kg/day or 30 mg/kg/day, once daily) in advance and then monosodium sodium urate (MSU) was injected into their joint to establish an acute gout mice model. The pain and swelling of the hind paw in mice were determined. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokine in the paw tissues was assessed by Elisa and the inflammatory infiltration of the joint was determined by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the tissues were measured by commercial kits. In addition, the expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and downstream genes were detected by PCR and Western blot. Furthermore, LPS-primed murine macrophages Raw 264.7 cells were treated with different concentrations of DMF (2 μM, 5 μM, 10 μM) for 2 h, and then challenged with MSU (200 μg/mL) for other 12 h to observe the effect of DMF on cell viability via cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in the supernatant of culture medium. Immunofluorescent staining was used to detect the NLRP3 inflammasome activation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in vitro. Caspase-1 activity was measured by corresponding assay kits both in vivo and in vitro.

RESULTS

DMF attenuated pain and swelling in MSU-induced gout mice by decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokine production and inflammatory cell infiltration, as well as improved oxidative stress. Moreover, DMF inhibited the activation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome and subsequent expression of caspase-1, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-18 at both mRNA and protein levels. Meanwhile, DMF suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome expression and ROS production in LPS and MSU-stimulated Raw 264.7 cells, thereby protecting the cells from inflammatory injury.

CONCLUSIONS

DMF serves as a new approach for the treatment of MSU-induced gouty arthritis by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation and oxidative stress.

Dynapenic Abdominal Obesity and Risk of Heart Disease among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study

OBJECTIVES

The vicious cycle of dynapenia and abdominal obesity may have synergistic detrimental impacts on health. We aim to investigate the prospective association between dynapenic abdominal obesity and the risk of heart disease among middle-aged and older adults.

DESIGN

A prospective cohort study.

SETTING

English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, 2002-2019.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 4734 participants aged 50 years and older were included.

MEASUREMENTS

Individuals were divided into non-dynapenia/non-abdominal obesity (ND/NAO), non-dynapenia/abdominal obesity (ND/AO), dynapenia/non-abdominal obesity (D/NAO), and dynapenia/abdominal obesity (D/AO) according to grip strength and waist circumference at baseline. The Cox proportional hazards models were used to obtain the hazard ratios (HRs) of incident heart disease associated with dynapenia and abdominal obesity after adjusting for potential confounding factors.

RESULTS

During a median follow-up of 9.5 years, 1040 cases of heart disease were recorded. Compared with ND/NAO group, the multivariable HRs were 1.05 (0.92, 1.21) for ND/AO group, 1.31 (0.96, 1.81) for D/NAO group, and 1.39 (1.03, 1.88) for D/AO group. The significant association of D/AO with incident heart disease was detected in women but not in men [HR = 1.55 (1.07, 2.24) and 1.06 (0.60, 1.88), respectively]. Among middle-aged adults, significant associations of D/NAO and D/AO with incident heart disease were observed [HR = 2.46 (1.42, 4.29) and 1.74 (1.02, 2.97), respectively].

CONCLUSION

Both D/NAO and D/AO might increase the risk of developing heart disease, highlighting the importance of dynapenia and obesity early screening for heart disease prevention.

The Anti-Inflammatory Effect of miR-140-3p in BMSCs-Exosomes on Osteoarthritis

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Articular cartilage injury is a common disease in daily life, with a high incidence. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of miRNA-140-3p in bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)-derived exosomes under hypoxia on inflammatory articular chondrocytes. MATERIAL AND METHODS To simulate the pathological status of arthritis, rat chondrocytes were used to establish the osteoarthritis (OA) model by IL-1β (10 μg/ml) as a modulating in vitro, and exosomes were isolated by differential ultra-high speed centrifugation. The cell counting kit-8, wound healing and flow cytometry assays were utilized to assess proliferation, migration and apoptosis of chondrocytes, respectively. Lipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of chondrocytes were detected by oil red O staining and toluidine blue staining individually. The expressions of miR-140-3p and chondrocyte-specific gene mRNA were investigated using qRT-PCR. Western blot was applied to assess chondrocyte associated proteins and BMSC-Exo surface protein markers, and immunohistochemistry was adopted to detect the staining of collagen I and II. RESULTS Under scanning electronic microscope, the shape of exosomes was almost round. Exosome treatment prominently impaired the inhibition of chondrocytes' proliferative and migrative ability by IL-1β. It was found hypoxia had a more marked impact on proliferation, expression of collagen II and apoptosis in OA chondrocytes than normoxia, as well as a stronger effect on weakening adipose differentiation and enhancing chondrogenic differentiation in inflammatory chondrocytes. Furthermore, incubation with BMSC-Exo overexpressing miR-140-3p can remarkably increase the survival rate and migration in inflammatory chondrocytes. In addition, overexpression of miR-140-3p was found to enhance the chondrogenic differentiation of inflammatory chondrocytes. Furthermore, we found that the healing effect of exosomes on inflammatory chondrocytes under hypoxic conditions was produced by a rise in miR-140-3p expression within them and that hypoxia-mediated upregulation of miR-140-3p expression occurred through HIF-1α. CONCLUSIONS Under hypoxia, BMSC-Exo enhanced the chondrogenic phenotype, increased the viability of inflammatory chondrocytes. The overexpression of miR-140-3p in BMSC-Exo is beneficial to protect joints and delaying the pathogenesis in OA. Key words: HIF-1α, apoptosis, lipogenic differentiation, chondrogenic differentiation.

Impact of Surface Roughness on Partition and Selectivity of Ionic Liquids Mixture in Porous Electrode

Understanding the influence of surface roughness on the adsorption of ions from an ionic liquids (ILs) mixture is essential for designing supercapacitors. The classical density functional theory (DFT) is applied to investigate the adsorption behavior of ILs mixtures in rough nanopores. The model parameters for each ion are determined by fitting experimental data of pure IL density. The results show that the smaller anions are densely accumulated near the rough surface and are the dominant species at a high positive potential. The exclusion of larger anions is enhanced by roughness at almost all potentials. At negative potential, the surface roughness promotes the adsorption of cations, and the partition coefficient increases with roughness. The partition coefficient of smaller anions is virtually independent of roughness. At positive potential, the surface roughness only promotes the adsorption of smaller anions and raises the partition coefficient. The partition coefficient of smaller anions is far greater than one. The selectivity of smaller anions for rough surfaces is very high and increases with roughness. The surface charge of a more uneven surface is significantly higher (about 30%) at a high potential.

Collision-System and Beam-Energy Dependence of Anisotropic Flow Fluctuations

Elliptic flow measurements from two-, four-, and six-particle correlations are used to investigate flow fluctuations in collisions of U+U at sqrt[s_{NN}]=193  GeV, Cu+Au at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV and Au+Au spanning the range sqrt[s_{NN}]=11.5-200  GeV. The measurements show a strong dependence of the flow fluctuations on collision centrality, a modest dependence on system size, and very little if any, dependence on particle species and beam energy. The results, when compared to similar LHC measurements, viscous hydrodynamic calculations, and trento model eccentricities, indicate that initial-state-driven fluctuations predominate the flow fluctuations generated in the collisions studied.

The association between dietary selenium intake and Hashimoto's thyroiditis among US adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2007-2012

BACKGROUND

Selenium has been shown to influence the pathological processes and physiological functions of thyroid. Although growing evidence has shown that selenium can improve the treatment of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), there is a need to evaluate the association between dietary selenium intake and HT in a large cross-sectional study. This study explored the association between dietary selenium intake and HT based on the National Health reand Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database (2007-2012).

METHODS

A total of 8756 of 30,442 participants were included in the study. Dietary selenium intake was the independent variable, while HT was the dependent variable. In addition, the relative importance of the selected variables was determined using the XGBoost model. A smooth curve was constructed based on the fully adjusted model to investigate the potential linear relationship between dietary selenium intake and HT. Smooth curves were also constructed to explore the linear/non-linear relationship between dietary selenium intake and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb)/ thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb).

RESULTS

The mean age of the enrolled participants was 44.35 years (± 20.92). The risk of HT was significantly reduced by a 35% per-unit increase in dietary selenium intake after fully adjusting for covariates according to the model (log2-transformed data; OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.51, 0.83). The XGBoost model revealed that dietary selenium intake was the most important variable associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Dietary selenium intake (Log2-transformed) was negatively correlated with TPOAb levels [- 16.42 (- 22.18, - 10.65), P < 0.0001], while a non-linear relationship was observed between dietary selenium intake and TgAb with an inflection point of 6.58 (95.67 μg, Log2-transformed).

CONCLUSION

Dietary selenium intake is independently and inversely associated with HT risk. Moreover, dietary selenium intake is negatively correlated with TPOAb levels and non-linearly correlated with TGAb levels. Therefore, dietary selenium intake may be a safe and low-cost alternative for the prevention and treatment of HT.

[Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease treated with omalizumab: 3 cases report and literature review]

Objective: To summarize the clinical data of aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) treated with omalizumab in Peking University First Hospital and reviewed the relative literatures. Methods: We analyzed retrospectively the clinical data of three cases of AERD treated with omalizumab in Peking University First Hospital from March 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021. The clinical researches on the treatment of AERD with omalizumab up to January 31, 2022 were retrieved in PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang Data. Results: Our three patients of AERD treated with omalizumab for 32 to 68 weeks obtained relief of symptoms of upper and lower respiratory tract, improvement in lung function, and reduction in percentage of blood eosinophils. There were 14 clinical studies on treatment of AERD with omalizumab, including 3 randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled studies and 11 self-controlled case series studies. The majority of studies showed that omalizumab contributed to improve the symptoms of AERD, decrease the frequency of asthma attacks and reduce systemic glucocorticoid use. Conclusion: Omalizumab can improve the disease control of AERD, but further studies are needed.

Study of the Semileptonic Decay Λ_{c}^{+}→Λe^{+}ν_{e}

The study of the Cabibbo-favored semileptonic decay Λ_{c}^{+}→Λe^{+}ν_{e} is reported using a 4.5  fb^{-1} data sample of e^{+}e^{-} annihilations collected at center-of-mass energies ranging from 4.600 GeV to 4.699 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. The branching fraction of the decay is measured to be B(Λ_{c}^{+}→Λe^{+}ν_{e})=(3.56±0.11_{stat}±0.07_{syst})%, which is the most precise measurement to date. Furthermore, we perform an investigation of the internal dynamics in Λ_{c}^{+}→Λe^{+}ν_{e}. We provide the first direct comparisons of the differential decay rate and form factors with those predicted from lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) calculations. Combining the measured branching fraction with a q^{2}-integrated rate predicted by LQCD, we determine |V_{cs}|=0.936±0.017_{B}±0.024_{LQCD}±0.007_{τ_{Λ_{c}}}.

Measurement of the Absolute Branching Fraction and Decay Asymmetry of Λ→nγ

The radiative hyperon decay Λ→nγ is studied using (10087±44)×10^{6}  J/ψ events collected with the BESIII detector operating at BEPCII. The absolute branching fraction of the decay Λ→nγ is determined to be (0.832±0.038_{stat}±0.054_{syst})×10^{-3}, which is a factor of 2.1 lower and 5.6 standard deviations different than the previous measurement. By analyzing the joint angular distribution of the decay products, the first determination of the decay asymmetry α_{γ} is reported with a value of -0.16±0.10_{stat}±0.05_{syst}.