New Optical Manipulation of Relativistic Vortex Cutter

A new relativistic vortex cutter driven by the Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) mode is carried out for the first time in three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Studies show that the electric fields periodically concentrate and emanate within every laser wavelength for the reflected circularly polarized LG_{p}^{l} (p=0, l=1, σ_{z}=-1) laser, which works just like a vortex cutter, resulting in a relativistic ultrashort collimated electron cluster with a constant period in space. A single particle model is given and verifies that the cluster formation has a close relation with the parameters of orbital angular momentum (l) and spin angular momentum (σ_{z}). Such a relativistic vortex cutter potentially can be applied for the accelerator, generating high-flux particle and coherent radiation sources, and so on.

Effect of the acrosome reaction on the efficiency of sperm-mediated DNA transfer

Sperm-mediated gene transfer (SMGT) is based on the ability of spermatozoa to bind exoge- nous DNA and transfer it into oocytes by fertilization. However, SMGT is still undergoing opti- mization to improve its efficiency to produce transgenic animals. The acrosome reaction is neces- sary for spermatozoa to carry the exogenous DNA into oocytes. In this study, the effect of the acrosome reaction on the efficiency of spermatozoa carrying exogenous DNA was evalua- ted. The results showed that the efficiency of the acrosome reaction was significantly higher (p⟨0.05) after incubation with 50 μmol/L progesterone compared to incubation without proges- terone. It was significantly higher (p⟨0.05) in the 20, 40, and 60 min of progesterone treatment groups than in the 0 min treatment group. The spermatozoa were further incubated with cyanine dye Cy5 labeled DNA (Cy5-DNA) for 30 min at 37°C, and positive fluorescence signals were detected after the acrosome reaction was induced by progesterone at concentrations of 0 and 50 μmol/L for 40 min. The percentage of positive Cy5-DNA signals in spermatozoa was 96.61±2.06% and 97.51±2.03% following exposure to 0 and 50 μmol/L progesterone, respective- ly. The percentage of partial spermatozoa heads observed following combination with Cy5-DNA was 39.73±3.03% and 56.88±3.12% following exposure to 0 and 50 μmol/L progesterone, respec- tively. The ratio of positively stained spermatozoa combined with exogenous DNA showed no reduction after the acrosome reaction. These results suggest that the acrosome reaction might not be the key factor affecting the efficiency of SMGT.

Motion induced phase error reduction using a Hilbert transform

Object motion can introduce phase error and thus measurement error for phase-shifting profilometry. This paper proposes a generic motion error compensation method based on our finding that the dominant motion-introduced phase error doubles the frequency of the projected fringe frequency, and the Hilbert transform shifts the phase of a fringe pattern by π/2. We apply a Hilbert transform to phase-shifted fringe patterns to generate another set of fringe patterns, calculate one phase map using the original fringe patterns and another phase map using Hilbert transformed fringe patterns, and then use the average of these two phase maps for three-dimensional reconstruction. Both simulation and experiments demonstrated that the proposed method can substantially reduce motion-introduced measurement error.

Endothelial cells promote metastasis of prostate cancer by enhancing autophagy

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies. Increasing evidence suggested that endothelial cells may contribute to prostate cancer progression and metastasis. Most recently, autophagy has been proposed to plays a significant role in tumorigenesis and metastasis. Also, it is reported that downregulation of androgen receptor (AR) induces autophagy in prostate cancer cells. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we aim to explore the role and mechanisms of endothelial cell in prostate cancer progression.

METHODS

The coculture system was established to test the effect of endothelial cells on prostate cancer cells. We performed antibody array and ELISA were used to profile the cytokine expression pattern of endothelial cells in supernatant. Western blot and RT-PCR were used to determine the mechanism by endothelial cells to promote invasion ability of prostate cancer cells. Maraviroc and chloroquine were used to block the CCL5/CCR5 and autophagy pathway respectively. Orthotopic xenograft mouse models and drug treatment study were conducted to determine the role of endothelial cells in promoting metastatic potential in vivo.

RESULTS

We use CPRC prostate cancer model and demonstrate that endothelial cells secrete large amount of CCL5 and induces autophagy by suppressing AR expression in prostate cancer cell lines. Consequently, elevated autophagy accelerates focal adhesions proteins disassembly and promoted prostate cancer invasion. Inhibition of both CCL5/CCR5 signaling and autophagy significantly reduces metastasis in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, our data establish the function for endothelial cells in tumor metastasis and propose new drug target for mCRPC.

Type 1 innate lymphoid cells are associated with type 2 diabetes

AIM

Type 1 innate lymphoid cells (ILC1s) play a major role in regulating systemic inflammatory diseases. However, the relationship between ILC1s and type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains unclear. Thus, the present study investigated the relationship between ILC1s and glucose homoeostasis in humans.

METHODS

A total of 37 newly diagnosed T2D patients and 32 subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), matched for age and body mass index (BMI), were enrolled in the study. Flow cytometric analysis of ILC1s derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and omental adipose tissue was performed.

RESULTS

T2D patients displayed greater numbers and frequencies of circulating and adipose tissue ILC1s (P < 0.05) compared with NGT subjects, and the two types of ILC1s correlated positively with each other. Circulating ILC1s were positively associated with glycated haemoglobin (HbA_1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), homoeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), adipose tissue insulin resistance index (Adipo-IR) and serum free fatty acids (FFAs). A logistic regression model revealed that patients with higher ILC1 levels exhibited a 13.481-fold greater risk of developing T2D.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to provide evidence that ILC1 abnormalities are involved in the development of diabetes. The data also suggest a potential role of ILC1s as therapeutic indicators in the treatment of T2D.

[Clinical cohort study of imaging evaluation and postoperative pathology of carotid vulnerable plaque]

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS) scanning in identifying vulnerable plaque in carotid artery. Methods: The study included a total of 25 patients who suffered from carotid artery stenosis and underwent carotid endarterectomy from January 2016 to December 2017 in Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University. Preoperative carotid artery contrast enhanced ultrasound and High-resolution MRI were performed to all patients to determine whether the plaques were stable. All patients then underwent carotid endarterectomy, during which, plaques were completely removed. Biopsies were performed using HE staining and CD31, CD34 and SMA immunohistochemistry was used to identify the plaques properties, including the thickness and integrity of the fiber cap, neovascular endothelium, hemorrhage, and inflammatory cells in the removed plaques.The results of these tests were compared with the diagnosis through the pre-operative imaging. Results: Among twenty-five cases, the pre-operative CEUS revealed sixteen with unstable plaques and nine with stable plaques. Meanwhile the post-operation pathology confirmed seventeen cases with unstable plaque components. The sensitivity of CEUS in the identification of carotid vulnerable plaque was 88.2%(15/17), the specificity was 87.5%(7/8), and the overall diagnostic accuracy was 88%(22/25). The sensitivity, specificity and overall diagnostic accuracy of high resolution MR for vulnerable plaque identification were 83.3%(10/12), 71.4%(5/7), 78.9%(15/19), respectively. There were no significant difference between two groups(χ(2)=0.003, P>0.05). Conclusions: The sensitivity, specificity and overall diagnostic accuracy of the CEUS for vulnerable plaque identification are high.Therefore, CEUS is recommended as one of the pre-operative diagnostic method for unstable plaque in carotid stenosis.

Dynamic anticrack propagation in snow

Continuum numerical modeling of dynamic crack propagation has been a great challenge over the past decade. This is particularly the case for anticracks in porous materials, as reported in sedimentary rocks, deep earthquakes, landslides, and snow avalanches, as material inter-penetration further complicates the problem. Here, on the basis of a new elastoplasticity model for porous cohesive materials and a large strain hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian numerical method, we accurately reproduced the onset and propagation dynamics of anticracks observed in snow fracture experiments. The key ingredient consists of a modified strain-softening plastic flow rule that captures the complexity of porous materials under mixed-mode loading accounting for the interplay between cohesion loss and volumetric collapse. Our unified model represents a significant step forward as it simulates solid-fluid phase transitions in geomaterials which is of paramount importance to mitigate and forecast gravitational hazards.

Anticrack propagation in snow results from the mixed-mode failure and collapse of a buried weak layer and can lead to slab avalanches. Here, authors reproduce the complex dynamics of anticrack propagation observed in field experiments using a Material Point Method with large strain elastoplasticity.

[Glucocorticoids and liver diseases]

Glucocorticoids is a type of steroid hormone secreted from zona fasciculata of adrenal cortex.As an immune and inflammatory inhibitor, glucocorticoids has been used to treat many kinds of diseases.T cell response plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of liver diseases. However, the role of glucocorticoids in the mechanism and treatment of liver disease in current clinical practice is controversial. This paper summarizes the progress of glucocorticoid use for the treatment of liver diseases in recent years. References will be provided for how to grasp the indications,application timing and proper dosage of glucocorticoids in liver diseases.

Impedance-based sensor for potassium ions

A conductometric sensor for potassium ions in solution is presented. Interdigitated, planar gold electrodes were coated with a potassium-selective polymer membrane composed of a poly(vinyl chloride) matrix with about 65 wt% of plasticiser and 2-5 wt% of a potassium-selective ionophore. The impedance of the membrane was measured, using the electrodes as a transducer, and related to the concentration of potassium in a sample solution in contact with the membrane. Sensitivity was optimised by varying the sensor components, and selectivity for potassium over sodium was also shown. The resulting devices are compact, miniature, robust sensors which, by means of impedance measurements, eliminate the need for a reference electrode. The sensor was tested for potassium concentration changes of 2 mM across the clinically relevant range of 2.7-18.7 mM.

Treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in the caudate lobe: US-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation combined with ethanol ablation

AIM

To evaluate the technical feasibility and treatment results of ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) combined with ethanol ablation (EA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the caudate lobe.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The institutional review board approved this retrospective study and the requirement for informed consent was waived. From October 2009 to June 2016, there were 49 patients with HCC in the caudate lobe underwent ablation. Among them, 14 patients (12 men and two women, mean age: 49.9±14.9 years) with 16 caudate lobe HCCs (mean size: 3±1.1 cm) who underwent US-guided RFA-EA were identified. These patients were compared with patients who underwent RFA alone (n=17) and EA alone (n=18).

RESULTS

HCCs in the RFA-EA group were larger than those in the EA-alone group (3±1.1 versus 2.1±0.7 cm, p=0.028). In the RFA-EA group, all the patients achieved treatment success (14/14) and entered follow-up. After a follow-up period of 17.1±10.6 months (range, 5-36 months), local tumour progression (LTP) was detected in four tumours. The 1- and 2-year LTP rates after RFA-EA were 18.8% and 27.8%, respectively. The 1- and 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 35.7% and 13.4%. Six patients died, with the 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates of 85.1%, 63.1%, and 21%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the LTP, DFS, and OS rates between the RFA-EA group and RFA-alone or EA groups (p=0.363-0.733).

CONCLUSION

US-guided percutaneous RFA-EA appears to be a feasible and effective treatment for HCC in the caudate lobe.