Direct Measurement of the Branching Fractions B(ψ(3686)→J/ψX) and B(ψ(3770)→J/ψX), and Observation of the State R(3760) in e^{+}e^{-}→J/ψX

We report a measurement of the observed cross sections of e^{+}e^{-}→J/ψX based on 3.21  fb^{-1} of data accumulated at energies from 3.645 to 3.891 GeV with the BESIII detector operated at the BEPCII collider. In analysis of the cross sections, we measured the decay branching fractions of B(ψ(3686)→J/ψX)=(64.4±0.6±1.6)% and B(ψ(3770)→J/ψX)=(0.5±0.2±0.1)% for the first time. The energy-dependent line shape of these cross sections cannot be well described by two Breit-Wigner (BW) amplitudes of the expected decays ψ(3686)→J/ψX and ψ(3770)→J/ψX. Instead, it can be better described with one more BW amplitude of the decay R(3760)→J/ψX. Under this assumption, we extracted the R(3760) mass M_{R(3760)}=3766.2±3.8±0.4  MeV/c^{2} , total width Γ_{R(3760)}^{tot}=22.2±5.9±1.4  MeV, and product of leptonic width and decay branching fraction Γ_{R(3760)}^{ee}B[R(3760)→J/ψX]=(79.4±85.5±11.7)  eV. The significance of the R(3760) is 5.3σ. The first uncertainties of these measured quantities are from fits to the cross sections and second systematic.

Performance Verification of SeqType® P52 Human Ancestry Identification SNP Detection Kit

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the discrimination efficiency of the SeqType^® P52 Human Ancestry Identification SNP Detection Kit based on a high-throughput sequencing platform in five Chinese ethnic groups. Methods Using the SeqType^® P52 Human Ancestry Identification SNP Detection Kit based on a high-throughput sequencing platform, a total of 350 samples from Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Uygur, and Yi populations in China were detected and population cluster analysis was performed. Results The effective sequencing depth of a single site in a single sample was ≥720×, and the average report rate was 96%. The mean values of allele frequency differences between the Tibetan, Mongolian, Uygur, Yi and Han population were 0.20, 0.05, 0.24 and 0.11, respectively. Using Structure 2.3.4 software under K=5 mode, independent ancestral component in Han, Tibetan and Uygur could be detected, which was consistent with the result observed from the principal component analysis （PCA）. For the Yi population, two thirds of them had relatively independent ancestral component close to the Tibetan population and one third were similar to the Uygur population. The Mongolian population had similar ancestral origin component with Han population. Conclusion The composite detection system with 52 screened ancestry-informative SNP sites has been established in this study, which can effectively analyze the composition and individual genetic components of populations from Han, Tibetan and Uygur. The ability to discriminate among Han, Mongolian and Yi needs to be further improved. The SeqType^® P52 Human Ancestry Identification SNP Detection Kit can be used to infer the origin of an individual's ancestors in some forensic DNA cases.

[Evaluation of kurtosis on hearing loss caused by non-steady state noise in general equipment manufacturing industry]

Objective: To study the effect of occupational exposure to non-steady state noise on hearing loss in the general equipment manufacturing industry, and to explore the feasibility of applying kurtosis index to evaluate hearing loss caused by non-steady state noise. Methods: A total of 233 workers exposed to non-steady state noise in 6 general equipment manufacturing enterprises were selected as the observation group, and 237 workers exposed to steady noise in 4 textile enterprises were selected as the control group between 2012 and 2018. Personal normalized continuous A-weighted sound pressure level equivalent to an 8 h-working-day (L(Aeq, 8 h)) was determined by a noise dosimeter. Cumulation noise exposure (CNE) was calculated from L(Aeq, 8 h) and related working age, and the CNE was adjusted by using noise kurtosis (CNE' after adjustment) . Meanwhile, questionnaires and hearing loss tests were performed for all subjects. The changes in the threshold of high-frequency hearing and the incidence of high-frequency hearing loss caused by noise in the two groups were compared before and after the adjustment of the kurtosis of CNE. The correlation between CNE and the incidence of high-frequency hearing loss before and after kurtosis adjustment was analyzed. Results: There was an difference between the 3000-8000 Hz hearing threshold of workers in different CNE groups (P<0.05) . logistic regression analysis showed that CNE was a risk factor of high-frequency hearing loss for workers in the observation group (OR=1.189, P<0.05) , and trend Chi-square test showed that the incidence of high-frequency hearing loss increased with CNE levels (χ(2)(trend)=34.415, P<0.05) .Before the kurtosis adjustment, in the CNE 95~<110 dB (A) ·year level group, the incidence of high-frequency hearing loss and the high-frequency hearing threshold in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05) . After kurtosis adjustment, there was no significant difference in the incidence of high-frequency hearing loss between the observation group and the control group in each level group (P>0.05) . The correlation between CNE after kurtosis adjustment and the incidence of high-frequency hearing loss was better than that before adjustment (after R(2) adjustment >before R(2) adjustment) . Conclusion: The effect of non-steady state noise on high-frequency hearing loss of workers in general equipment industry increases with the increase of CNE, and the effect of non-steady state noise on high-frequency hearing loss of workers is greater than that of steady noise. CNE' can be used to evaluate the hearing loss caused by non-steady state noise.

[A nationwide survey of acute pancreatitis:a report from 126 hospitals in China]

Objective: To investigate the current status of acute pancreatitis(AP) diagnosis and treatment in hospitals of different levels in China. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. The Acute Pancreatitis Diagnosis and Treatment Practice Questionnaire was designed and sent to the members of the Group of Pancreatic Surgery Chinese Society of Chinese Medical Association Branch and some other hospitals online from 8th to 24th December, 2020. Observation indicators included general information, AP diagnosis and assessment, treatment strategies, follow-up information, and comparisons of clinical practice between 3A-level and non-3A-level hospitals were performed. Counting data was used χ 2 test or Fisher exact test. Results: A total of 126 valid questionnaires were collected in final analysis, of which 75.4% (95/126) were from 3A-level hospitals, 15.9%(20/126) and 8.7%(11/126)were from other third-level and second-level hospitals,respectively. Of all participants, 88.1% (111/126)used classic AP diagnostic criteria, and 88.1% (111/126)conducted severity assessment. The revised Atlanta classification and determinant-based classification were commonly used, accounting for 72.1%(80/111) and 22.5%(25/111), respectively. 70.6%(89/126)used predictive models, including APACHE Ⅱ score, imaging models(modified CT severity index or Balthazar scoring) and Ranson criteria. For patients with early pancreatic or peripancreatic infection, 75.4%(95/126) preferred antibiotic therapy, and for those with infected walled-off necrosis, 61.1% (77/126) preferred percutaneous catheter drainage.When surgical intervention required,preferred methods were laparoscopic transabdominal surgery(37.3%, 47/126) and open surgery(25.4%,32/126). 61.1%(77/126) accepted "delayed surgery" notion. 32.5%(41/126) routinely used the step-up approach. For mild biliary acute pancreatitis, 44.4%(56/126) underwent cholecystectomy during the same hospital admission. Regarding follow-up, ideal overall follow-up periods were 6 months(46.0%,57/124) and 12 months(33.1%, 41/124), and follow-up interval was 3 months(50.8%,63/124) and 1 month(23.4%, 29/124). Comparing clinical practice of AP between 3A-level hospitals and non-3A-level hospitals, we found that the former had a significantly higher proportion of annual AP admission number of over 100(34.7%(33/95) vs.12.9%(4/31), χ 2=5.372, P=0.020), and higher proportion of routine severity assessment(68.4%(65/95) vs. 35.5%(11/31), χ²=11.107, P=0.004), higher proportion of routine severity prediction(45.3%(43/95) vs. 12.9%(4/31), χ²=13.549, P=0.001). When surgical intervention required, the proportion of step-up approach was significantly higher(37.9%(36/95) vs.16.1%(5/31), χ 2=8.512, P=0.017). Significantly more participants preferred that follow-up should be completed by full-time staff(35.8%(34/95) vs. 22.6%(7/31), χ²=8.154, P=0.043) in 3-A level hospitals. Conclusions: The standardization of AP diagnosis is relatively high in China. However, standardized assessment of severity and prediction need to be further prompted, especially in non-3A-level hospitals. Regarding AP treatment, especially the minimally invasive intervention strategy would be the focus of the promotion of standardized AP practice in the future.

Search for Displaced Leptons in sqrt[s]=13 TeV pp Collisions with the ATLAS Detector

A search for charged leptons with large impact parameters using 139  fb^{-1} of sqrt[s]=13  TeV pp collision data from the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented, addressing a long-standing gap in coverage of possible new physics signatures. Results are consistent with the background prediction. This search provides unique sensitivity to long-lived scalar supersymmetric lepton partners (sleptons). For lifetimes of 0.1 ns, selectron, smuon, and stau masses up to 720, 680, and 340  GeV, respectively, are excluded at 95% confidence level, drastically improving on the previous best limits from LEP.

[Influence of female age on the fresh cycle live birth rate of different controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocols in poor ovarian response patients]

Objective: To investigate the influence of age on the fresh cycle live birth rate in patients with poor ovarian response in different controlled ovarian hyperstimulation groups. Methods: The clinical data of 3 342 patients in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from February 2014 to November 2018 were retrospectively collected, including early-follicular phase long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist long protocol group (1 375 cases), mid-luteal phase short-acting GnRH agonist long protocol group (1 161 cases) and GnRH antagonist protocol group (806 cases); each group was divided into 4 subgroups according to age: ≤30 years, 31－35 years, 36－40 years and >40 years, the pregnancy outcomes in each age subgroup were analyzed under different controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocols. Results: In early-follicular phase long-acting GnRH agonist long protocol group, the final live birth rates of each age subgroup were 39.4% (228/579), 36.1% (135/374), 16.6% (48/290) and 3.0% (4/132); in mid-luteal phase short-acting GnRH agonist long protocol group, live birth rates of each age subgroup were 32.1% (99/308), 20.8% (55/264), 13.0% (45/346) and 7.0% (17/243); in GnRH antagonist protocol group, live birth rates of each age subgroup were 22.8% (26/114), 16.3% (25/153), 11.2% (31/278), and 3.8% (10/261); the live birth rate of each group decreased significantly with the increase of age (all P<0.01). When the age≤35 years old, the fresh cycle live birth rate of the early-follicular phase long-acting GnRH agonist long protocol group was significantly better than those of the other two groups (all P<0.01). The multivariate logistic regression analysis of age and live birth rate of the three controlled ovarian hyperstimulation groups showed age was the independent influence factor (OR=0.898, 95%CI: 0.873-0.916, P<0.01; OR=0.926, 95%CI: 0.890-0.996, P<0.01; OR=0.901, 95%CI: 0.863-0.960, P<0.01). Conclusions: Age is an independent influencing factor for the prediction of fresh cycle live birth rate in low ovarian response patients. No matter which controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocol is adopted, the final live birth rate decreases significantly with the increase of women's age. In addition, the early-follicular phase long-acting GnRH agonist long protocol has the highest fresh cycle live birth rate among all controlled ovarian hyperstimulation groups.

Peta-electron volt gamma-ray emission from the Crab Nebula

The Crab Nebula is a bright source of gamma rays powered by the Crab Pulsar's rotational energy through the formation and termination of a relativistic electron-positron wind. We report the detection of gamma rays from this source with energies from 5 × 10^-4 to 1.1 peta-electron volts with a spectrum showing gradual steepening over three energy decades. The ultrahigh-energy photons imply the presence of a peta-electron volt electron accelerator (a pevatron) in the nebula, with an acceleration rate exceeding 15% of the theoretical limit. We constrain the pevatron's size between 0.025 and 0.1 parsecs and the magnetic field to ≈110 microgauss. The production rate of peta-electron volt electrons, 2.5 × 10³⁶ ergs per second, constitutes 0.5% of the pulsar spin-down luminosity, although we cannot exclude a contribution of peta-electron volt protons to the production of the highest-energy gamma rays.

[Cohort study of efficacy and safety of polatuzumab vedotin combined with immunochemotherapy in patients with relapse/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma]

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and tolerability of Polatuzumab vedotin+rituximab±bendamustine (Pola-(B)R) in relapse/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma (R/R DLBCL) patients. Methods: The clinical data of 21 patients enrolled in Chinese Pola compassionate use program (CUP) in 4 centers from November 2019 to August 2020 were collected. There were 15 males and 6 females, and the median age was 56 years (ranged 25-76 years). Of the patients, 10 cases received Pola-BR regimen and the other 11 received Pola-R. Their clinical features, regimens, efficacy, and adverse events (AEs) were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Twenty-one patients with at least one efficacy evaluation were included. At data analysis cut-off point (12 Aug. 2020), the best overall response (BOR) rate was 81.0% (17/21) and the complete response (CR) rate was 19.0% (4/21). Kaplan-Meier survival estimation was performed, at a median follow-up of 54 days, three patients (14.3%) had disease progressed, and 18 patients (85.7%) were censored; the median progression-free survival (mPFS) was estimated to be 148 days. The incidence of adverse effects (AEs) of any grade was higher in Pola-BR group than Pola-R group (80.0% vs 63.6%). However, the incidence of grade 3-4 AEs were close in the two groups (30.0% vs 29.3%). The most common hematological toxicities were thrombocytopenia (28.6%, 6/21), neutropenia (28.6%, 6/21) and anemia (14.3%, 3/21), respectively. One patient with pneumonia and 1 patient with hemophagocytic syndrome recovered after symptomatic treatment. No peripheral neuropathy of grade≥2 was observed. Conclusions: The preliminary data suggested that, for heavily treated Chinese R/R DLBCL, the Pola-(B)R regimen still achieves promising efficacy and tolerable safety.

The 14-3-3 proteins: regulators of plant metabolism and stress responses

The 14-3-3 proteins bind to and modulate the activity of phosphorylated proteins that regulate a variety of metabolic processes in plants. Over the past decade interest in the plant 14-3-3 field has increased dramatically, mainly due to the vast number of mechanisms by which 14-3-3 proteins regulate metabolism. As this field develops, it is essential to understand the role of these proteins in metabolic and stress responses. This review summarizes current knowledge about 14-3-3 proteins in plants, including their molecular structure and function, regulatory mechanism and roles in carbon and nitrogen metabolism and stress responses. We begin with a molecular structural analysis of 14-3-3 proteins, which describes the basic principles of 14-3-3 function, and then discuss the regulatory mechanisms and roles in carbon and nitrogen metabolism of 14-3-3 proteins. We conclude with a summary of the 14-3-3 response to biotic stress and abiotic stress.

Common vetch varietal differences in hay nutritive value, ruminal fermentation, nutrient digestibility and performance of fattening lambs

In some lower rainfall regions of the world (300-750 mm), common vetch (Vicia sativa L., hereafter referred to as vetch) has been shown to have yields competitive with alternate crops and provide high-quality hay for ruminant diets, but there are few studies of vetch performance as a livestock feed, or of vetch varietal differences in livestock feeding value. This study evaluated vetch varietal differences in hay nutritive value, ruminal fermentation properties, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention and animal performance in fattening lambs consuming a diet comprising 20% vetch. Fifty male Hu lambs with an initial BW of 17.7 ± 0.27 kg and 2-3 months of age were assigned randomly into five groups of 10 lambs, and each allocated one of five dietary treatments for 67 days (10 days of adaptation and a 57 day experimental period). All diets contained 30% maize stover, 50% concentrate, and with a different forage source (on an as-fed basis): 20% alfalfa hay (Control), 20% vetch 333A (C333A) hay, 20% vetch Lanjian No. 1 (CLJ1) hay, 20% vetch Lanjian No. 2 (CLJ2) hay, or 20% vetch Lanjian No. 3 (CLJ3) hay. Hay CLJ3 had greater contents of ash, CP, ether extract, in vitro organic matter digestibility and metabolizable energy, and lower cell wall contents (P < 0.05) than those of C333A and CLJ1 hays, but similar to the CLJ2 hay (P > 0.05). Compared to the Control diet, the CLJ2 and CLJ3 diets resulted in greater (P < 0.05) final BW, average daily gain, total tract apparent digestibility of CP and NDF, and nitrogen balance, both when expressed as g/day and relative to nitrogen intake, while animal performance when fed diets with C333A or CLJ1 diet did not differ (P > 0.05) from the Control diet. No differences (P > 0.05) were observed between dietary treatments with respect to average daily feed intake, ruminal pH, total volatile fatty acid contents and molar proportions of acetate, butyrate, valerate, isobutyrate, and isovalerate, or total tract apparent digestibility of DM, organic matter, and ADF. The feed efficiency of tested feeds ranked CLJ3 = CLJ2 > CLJ1 > Control with C333A intermediate between CLJ1 and Control. In summary, considering hay quality, nutrient digestibility and animal weight gain, performance as a ruminant feed of hays from recently released vetch cultivars Lanjian No. 2 and Lanjian No. 3 was superior to the older cultivar C333A and the alfalfa control.

Extended Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission Surrounding PSR J0622+3749 Observed by LHAASO-KM2A

We report the discovery of an extended very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray source around the location of the middle-aged (207.8 kyr) pulsar PSR J0622+3749 with the Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). The source is detected with a significance of 8.2σ for E>25  TeV assuming a Gaussian template. The best-fit location is (right ascension, declination) =(95.47°±0.11°,37.92°±0.09°), and the extension is 0.40°±0.07°. The energy spectrum can be described by a power-law spectrum with an index of -2.92±0.17_{stat}±0.02_{sys}. No clear extended multiwavelength counterpart of the LHAASO source has been found from the radio to sub-TeV bands. The LHAASO observations are consistent with the scenario that VHE electrons escaped from the pulsar, diffused in the interstellar medium, and scattered the interstellar radiation field. If interpreted as the pulsar halo scenario, the diffusion coefficient, inferred for electrons with median energies of ∼160  TeV, is consistent with those obtained from the extended halos around Geminga and Monogem and much smaller than that derived from cosmic ray secondaries. The LHAASO discovery of this source thus likely enriches the class of so-called pulsar halos and confirms that high-energy particles generally diffuse very slowly in the disturbed medium around pulsars.

Assessment of the response of indigenous microflora and inoculated Bacillus licheniformis endospores in reconstituted skim milk to microwave and conventional heating systems by flow cytometry

Heat treatment is one of the most widely used processing technologies in the dairy industry. Its primary purpose is to destroy microorganisms, both pathogenic and spoilage, to ensure the product is safe and has a reasonable shelf life. In this study microwave volumetric heating (MVH) was compared with a conventional tubular heat exchanger (THE), in terms of the effects of each at a range of temperatures (75°C, 85°C, 95°C, 105°C, 115°C, and 125°C) on indigenous microflora viability and the germination of inoculated Bacillus licheniformis endospores in reconstituted skim milk. To assess the heat treatment-related effects on microbial viability, classical agar-based tests were applied to obtain the counts of 4 various microbiological groups including total bacterial, thermophilic bacterial, mesophilic aerobic bacterial endospore, and thermophilic aerobic bacterial endospore counts, and additional novel insights into cell permeability and spore germination profiles post-heat treatment were obtained using real-time flow cytometry (FC) methods. No significant differences in the plate counts of the indigenous microorganisms tested, the plate counts of the inoculated B. licheniformis, or the relative percentage of germinating endospores were observed between MVH- and THE-treated samples, at equal temperatures in the range specified above, indicating that both methods inactivated inoculated endospores to a similar degree (up to 70% as measured by FC and 5 log reduction as measured by plate counting for some treatments of inoculated endospores). Furthermore, increased cell permeability of indigenous microflora was observed by FC after MVH compared with THE treatment of uninoculated skim milk, which was reflected in lower total bacterial count at a treatment temperature of 105°C. This work demonstrates the utility of FC as a rapid method for assessing cell viability and spore inactivation for postthermal processing in dairy products and overall provides evidence that MVH is at least as effective at eliminating native microflora and inoculated B. licheniformis endospores as THE.

HPV16 infection promotes an M2 macrophage phenotype to promote the invasion and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is an important risk factor for esophageal cancer. Macrophages constitute a crucial immune medium for regulating HPV-related tumors; however, the specific regulatory mechanisms remain unknown. Therefore, the purpose of our current study was to investigate the mechanism by which HPV16E6 regulates macrophages to promote the invasion and metastasis of esophageal cancer.

METHODS

HPV16E6 infection was detected by polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemistry was used to verify the distribution of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and MMP-9 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues (ESCCs), and cancer adjacent normal tissues (CANs) from Kazakh patients. ESCC cells were transfected with a plasmid over-expressing HPV16E6 and non-contact cocultured with macrophages.

RESULTS

The infection rate of HPV16E6 in Kazakh ESCCs was clearly higher than that in CANs (P < 0.05). The density of CD163-positive TAMs was significantly positively correlated with HPV16E6 infection in ESCCs (P < 0.05). After coculturing macrophages and EC9706 cells transfected with the HPV16E6 plasmid, the phenotype of macrophages transformed into M2 macrophages. The migration and invasion ability of ESCC cells were higher in the HPV16E6-transfected and coculture group than in the HPV16E6 empty vector-transfected and non-cocultured HPV16E6-transfected groups (all P < 0.05). The density of M2-like TAMs in ESCCs was positively correlated with the level of MMP-9 expression. MMP-9 expression in the HPV16E6-ESCC coculture macrophages group was substantially higher than that in controls (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

HPV16 infection mediates tumor-associated macrophages to promote ESCC invasion and migration.

Ultrahigh-energy photons up to 1.4 petaelectronvolts from 12 γ-ray Galactic sources

The extension of the cosmic-ray spectrum beyond 1 petaelectronvolt (PeV; 10¹⁵ electronvolts) indicates the existence of the so-called PeVatrons-cosmic-ray factories that accelerate particles to PeV energies. We need to locate and identify such objects to find the origin of Galactic cosmic rays¹. The principal signature of both electron and proton PeVatrons is ultrahigh-energy (exceeding 100 TeV) γ radiation. Evidence of the presence of a proton PeVatron has been found in the Galactic Centre, according to the detection of a hard-spectrum radiation extending to 0.04 PeV (ref. ²). Although γ-rays with energies slightly higher than 0.1 PeV have been reported from a few objects in the Galactic plane^3-6, unbiased identification and in-depth exploration of PeVatrons requires detection of γ-rays with energies well above 0.1 PeV. Here we report the detection of more than 530 photons at energies above 100 teraelectronvolts and up to 1.4 PeV from 12 ultrahigh-energy γ-ray sources with a statistical significance greater than seven standard deviations. Despite having several potential counterparts in their proximity, including pulsar wind nebulae, supernova remnants and star-forming regions, the PeVatrons responsible for the ultrahigh-energy γ-rays have not yet been firmly localized and identified (except for the Crab Nebula), leaving open the origin of these extreme accelerators.

Subpolar North Atlantic western boundary density anomalies and the Meridional Overturning Circulation

Changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which have the potential to drive societally-important climate impacts, have traditionally been linked to the strength of deep water formation in the subpolar North Atlantic. Yet there is neither clear observational evidence nor agreement among models about how changes in deep water formation influence overturning. Here, we use data from a trans-basin mooring array (OSNAP-Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program) to show that winter convection during 2014-2018 in the interior basin had minimal impact on density changes in the deep western boundary currents in the subpolar basins. Contrary to previous modeling studies, we find no discernable relationship between western boundary changes and subpolar overturning variability over the observational time scales. Our results require a reconsideration of the notion of deep western boundary changes representing overturning characteristics, with implications for constraining the source of overturning variability within and downstream of the subpolar region.

Metagenomic analysis revealed the individualized shift in ileal microbiome of neonatal calves in response to delaying the first colostrum feeding

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of colostrum feeding time on the ileal microbiome of neonatal calves. In this study, 22 male Holstein calves were randomly assigned to different colostrum feeding time treatments: after birth (at 45 min, n = 7); at 6 h after birth (n = 8); and at 12 h after birth (TRT12h; n = 7). At 51 h after birth, calves were killed and ileum digesta was collected for microbiome analysis using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes, and viruses were identified from the ileum microbiome. For the bacteriome, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the predominant phyla, and Escherichia, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus were the 3 most abundant genera. For the archaeal community, Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota were the 2 major phyla, and Methanosarcina, Methanobrevibacter, and Methanocorpusculum were the 3 most abundant genera. In total, 116 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were identified from the ileal microbiome, with "biosynthesis of vancomycin group antibiotics," "biosynthesis of ansamycins," "valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis," "ribosome," and "d-alanine metabolism" as the top 5 functions. When the ileal microbiomes were compared among the 3 treatments, the relative abundance of Enterococcus was higher in TRT12h calves, suggesting that calves may have a higher abundance of opportunistic pathogens when the feeding of colostrum is delayed for 12 h. Moreover, among all KEGG pathways, the enriched "taurine and hypotaurine metabolism" (KO00430) pathway was identified in the ileal microbiome of TRT12h calves; however, future studies are needed to understand the effect on the host. Additionally, 2 distinct ileal microbial profiles were identified across all samples, indicating that that host factors may play a significant role in driving varied microbiome changes in response to colostrum feeding time. Whether such microbiome shifts affect long-term gut function and calf performance warrants future studies.

[Calpain activation promotes dialysis-associated peritoneal fibrosis in rats]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the role of calpain activation in the progression of peritoneal fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE

Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized equally into control group, MDL28170 (a calpain inhibitor)+normal saline group, peritoneal dialysis (PD) model group and PD + MDL28170 group. In the latter two groups, the rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of 100 mL/kg of 4.25% glucose PD solution, and those in PD+MDL28170 group and MDL28170 saline group received daily infusion of 4 mg/kg MDL28170 every other day. Eight weeks later, the rats were euthanized for pathological examination of the parietal peritoneum, and the visceral peritoneum was used for examining the activation status of calpain and the expressions of fibronectin (FN) and collagen I (COL-I). Calpain activation and expressions of FN, COL-I and α-SMA were also examined using Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay in primary cultures of rat peritoneal mesothelial cells treated with MDL28170, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), or both.

OBJECTIVE

Compared with the control rats, the rats in PD model group showed significantly increased peritoneal peritoneum thickness, calpain activation in the peritoneal tissue, and expressions of FN and COL-I (P < 0.05). Treatment with MDL28170 significantly alleviated associated peritoneal fibrosis, decreased the thickness of the peritoneum (P < 0.05), and reduced the expressions of FN and COL-I in the rats with daily PD (P < 0.05). In the in vitro experiment, the expressions of FN and COL-I were also significantly lower in rat peritoneal mesothelial cells treated with both MDL28170 and TGF-β than in the cells treated with TGF-β alone (P < 0.05).

OBJECTIVE

Peritoneal calpain activity and expressions FN and COL-I all increase significantly in rat models of PD-associated peritoneal fibrosis. Calpain activation can promote peritoneal fibrosis, and inhibition of calpain can alleviate peritoneal fibrosis.

[An overlooked liver cirrhosis complications: portal vein thrombosis, sarcopenia and hepatic osteopathy]

Liver cirrhosis can lead to a variety of complications. Ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, esophageal variceal bleeding, and hepatorenal syndrome have been well recognized. However, there are still some complications that have a high incidence, but are overlooked by clinicians. These complications will also significantly affect the patient's quality of life and long-term prognosis. In this paper, the overlooked complications of liver cirrhosis, such as portal vein thrombosis, cirrhotic sarcopenia, and hepatic osteopathy and so on, are discussed, and the future research direction and work focus are prospected, in order to attract the attention of clinicians and researchers.

[Research progress in the application of necrotic cavity lavage in the treatment of infected pancreatic necrosis]

Lavage has been used in the treatment of infected pancreatic necrosis(IPN) for a long time.It can be divided into peritoneal lavage and necrotic cavity lavage according to different parts of lavage.At present,peritoneal lavage is rarely used,while necrotic cavity lavage is widely used in laparotomy,minimally invasive surgery and endoscopic debridement and drainage for IPN patients.However,there is no unified standard for the type,method,duration and indication of stopping lavage.The application of lavage is controversial: proponents think that necrotic cavity lavage can dilute and remove residual or new necrotic tissue,remove inflammatory mediators and reduce the times of debridement,etc.While opponents think that lavage can not significantly reduce the concentration of phospholipase A2 and other bioactive substances,and is easy to form abscess and peripancreatic sepsis and cause infection to spread into the abdominal cavity and form peritonitis.In conclusion,necrotic cavity lavage can benefit some patients,especially those with smaller drainage diameter who underwent endoscopic debridement and percutaneous catheter drainage.However,whether it is necessary for patients with larger drainage diameter who underwent laparotomy or video-assisted debridement still needs to be further studied by randomized controlled trials.

Distinct alternations of brain functional network dynamics in obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia

Introduction

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia (SZ) are both severe psychiatric disorders. Though these two disorders have distinct typical symptoms, there are partial polygenic overlap and comorbidity between the two disorders. However, few studies have explored the shared and disorder-specific brain function underlying the neural pathophysiology of the two disorders, especially in the aspect of dynamics.

Objectives

To explore the abnormal characteristics of the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) in OCD and SZ as well as the association between dFC metrics and symptom severity.

Methods

The resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 31 patients with OCD, 49 patients with SZ, and 45 healthy controls were analyzed using independent component analysis to obtain independent components (ICs) and assigned them into eight brain networks (Figure 1), then used the sliding-window approach to generate dFC matrices. Using k-means clustering, we obtained three reoccurring dFC states (Figure 2), and state transition metrics were obtained

Results

In a sparsely connected state (state 1), SZ showed both increased fractional time and mean dwell time than controls (P=0.047 and P=0.033) and OCD (P=0.001 and P=0.003). In a state characterized by negative FC between networks (state 2), OCD showed both increased fractional time and mean dwell time than controls (P=0.032 and P=0.013) and SZ (P=0.005 and P=0.003). Moreover, the fractional time of state 2 was positively correlated with anxiety scores in OCD (r=0.535, P=0.021, FDR corrected) (Figure 3).

Conclusions

OCD and SZ patients showed distinct alternations of brain functional dynamics.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Altered brain functional dynamics in auditory and visual networks in schizophrenia

Introduction

One of the most perplexing and characteristic symptoms of the schizophrenia (SZ) patients is hallucination. The occurrence of hallucinations to be associated with altered activity in the auditory and visual cortex but is not well understood from the brain functional network dynamics in SZ.

Objectives

To explore the brain abnormal basis of hallucinations in SZ with the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC).

Methods

Using magnetic resonance imaging for 83 SZ patients and 83 matched healthy controls and independent component analysis, 52 independent components (ICs) were identified as nodes and assigned into eight intrinsic connectivity networks (Figure 1A). Subsequently, we established dFC matrices and clustered them into four discrete states (Figure 1B) and three state transition metrics were obtained. To further explore the changes in the centrality of each component, eigenvector centrality (EC) was calculated and its time-varying was evaluated.

Results

Compared to controls with FDR correction, we found that patients had more mean dwell times and fractional time in state 1 (P=0.0081 and P=0.0018), mainly with hypoconnectivity between auditory and visual network and other networks and hyperconnectivity between language and default-mode network (DMN). While, patients had less dwell times and fractional time in state 3 (P=0.0018 and P=0.0009), and decreased FC between visual network and executive control network (ECN) and increased FC between ECN and DMN than controls (Figure 2).

EC statistics showed that SZs displayed increased temporal dynamics in visual-related regions (Figure 3).

Conclusions

SZ was mainly manifested as altered dFC and temporal variability of nodal centrality in auditory and visual networks.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Different alternations of static and dynamic brain regional topological metrics in schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder

Introduction

Though schizophrenia (SZ) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are conceptualized as distinct clinical entities, they do have notable symptom overlap and a tight association. Graph-theoretical analysis of the brain connectome provides more indicators to describe the functional organization of the brain, which may help us understand the shared and disorder-specific neural basis of the two disorders.

Objectives

To explore the static and dynamic topological organization of OCD and SZ as well as the relationship between topological metrics and clinical variables.

Methods

Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 31 OCD patients, 49 SZ patients, and 45 healthy controls (HC) were involved in this study (Table 1). Using independent component analysis to obtain independent components (ICs) (Figure 1), which were defined as nodes for static and dynamic topological analysis.

Results

Static analysis showed the global efficiency of SZ was higher than HC. For nodal degree centrality, OCD exhibited decreased degree centrality in IC59 (located in visiual network) (P = 0.03) and increased degree centrality in IC38 (located in salience network) (P = 0.002) compared with HC. Dynamic analysis showed OCD exhibited decreased dynamics of degree centrality in IC38 (P = 0.003) compared with HC, which showed a negative correlation with clinical scores in OCD. While SZ showed decreased dynamics of degree centrality in IC76 (located in sensory motor network) compared with OCD (P=0.009), which showed a positive correlation with clinical scores in SZ (Figure 2).

Conclusions

These changes are suggestive of disorder-specific alternation of static and dynamic brain topological organization in OCD and SZ.

Development of the gas puffing imaging diagnostic on J-TEXT tokamak

Edge turbulence is important for plasma confinement, so the gas puffing imaging (GPI) diagnostic was proposed on the J-TEXT tokamak for the two-dimensional measurement of turbulence in the edge region. GPI is a diagnostic of plasma turbulence that uses a puff of neutral gas at the plasma edge to increase the local visible light emission for improved space-time resolution of plasma fluctuations. Considering the conditions of J-TEXT, the observation area is 21° away from the position of the optical system in the toroidal direction, and the observation area is 10 cm × 10 cm inside and outside the last closed flux surface. To have a lower divergence of the gas flow, the gas puff nozzle is specially designed. An interface has been developed for operation. To photograph the line radiation generated by the neutral gas cloud along the magnetic field lines, the optical system is designed. It is composed of a quartz glass, mirrors, commercial lenses, filters, and high-speed cameras. The high-speed camera can capture the line radiation with a speed up to 180 000 frames/s with 256 pixels × 256 pixels and an exposure time of 5 µs. In a recent experiment, the new GPI diagnostic has obtained some preliminary pictures.

Correlation between expression levels of lncRNA UCA1 and miR-18a with prognosis of hepatocellular cancer

OBJECTIVE

To uncover the prognostic potentials of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) UCA1 and miR-18a in hepatocellular cancer (HCC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Expression levels of UCA1 and microRNA-18a (miR-18a) in HCC tissues and adjacent normal ones harvested from 55 HCC patients were determined by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Clinical data of HCC patients were recorded, including pathological grading, tumor staging, intrahepatic metastasis, serum level of α-fetoprotein (AFP), tumor size, tumor number, recurrence, etc. Based on the median levels of UCA1 and miR-18a, enrolled HCC patients were classified into high-level and low-level group. Potential correlation between expression levels of UCA1 and miR-18a with survival of HCC patients was analyzed. The 5-year follow-up data of HCC patients were collected for analyzing factors that may influence prognosis in HCC patients by the Cox regression model.

RESULTS

UCA1 was upregulated and miR-18a was downregulated in HCC tissues. HCC patients with stage III-IV, tumor size ≥5 cm or multiple tumors expressed high level of UCA1. Besides, HCC patients with stage I-II, non-intrahepatic metastasis or primarily diagnosed expressed a relatively low level of miR-18a. High-level UCA1 and low-level miR-18a predicted worse prognosis in HCC patients. Cox regression analysis revealed that tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging, intrahepatic metastases, postoperative recurrences, and UCA1 were risk factors for HCC, while miR-18a was the protective factor.

CONCLUSIONS

LncRNA UCA1 is upregulated and miR-18a is downregulated in HCC tissues. High-level UCA1 and low-level miR-18a are closely linked to poor prognosis in HCC.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors and cellular treatment for lymphoma immunotherapy

Malignant lymphoma (ML) is a common hematological malignancy with many subtypes. Patients with ML usually undergo traditional treatment failure and become relapsed or refractory (R/R) cases. Recently, immunotherapy, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and cellular treatment, has gradually emerged and used in clinical trials with encouraging achievements for ML treatment, which exerts anti-tumor activity by blocking the immune evasion of tumor cells and enhancing the attack ability of immune cells. Targets of immune checkpoints include programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), T cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT), T cell immunoglobulin-3 (TIM-3) and lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3). Examples of cellular treatment are chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells and natural killer (NK) cells. This review aimed to present the current progress and future prospects of immunotherapy in lymphoma, with the focus upon ICIs and cellular treatment.

Longitudinal Flow Decorrelations in Xe+Xe Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.44 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

The first measurement of longitudinal decorrelations of harmonic flow amplitudes v_{n} for n=2-4 in Xe+Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.44  TeV is obtained using 3  μb^{-1} of data with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The decorrelation signal for v_{3} and v_{4} is found to be nearly independent of collision centrality and transverse momentum (p_{T}) requirements on final-state particles, but for v_{2} a strong centrality and p_{T} dependence is seen. When compared with the results from Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV, the longitudinal decorrelation signal in midcentral Xe+Xe collisions is found to be larger for v_{2}, but smaller for v_{3}. Current hydrodynamic models reproduce the ratios of the v_{n} measured in Xe+Xe collisions to those in Pb+Pb collisions but fail to describe the magnitudes and trends of the ratios of longitudinal flow decorrelations between Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb. The results on the system-size dependence provide new insights and an important lever arm to separate effects of the longitudinal structure of the initial state from other early and late time effects in heavy-ion collisions.

Search for Dark Matter Produced in Association with a Dark Higgs Boson Decaying into W^{±}W^{∓} or ZZ in Fully Hadronic Final States from sqrt[s]=13 TeV pp Collisions Recorded with the ATLAS Detector

Several extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. An uncharted signature of dark matter particles produced in association with VV=W^{±}W^{∓} or ZZ pairs from a decay of a dark Higgs boson s is searched for using 139  fb^{-1} of pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The s→V(qq[over ¯])V(qq[over ¯]) decays are reconstructed with a novel technique aimed at resolving the dense topology from boosted VV pairs using jets in the calorimeter and tracking information. Dark Higgs scenarios with m_{s}>160  GeV are excluded.

[Preliminary application and efficacy analysis of transumbilical single-incision plus one port robotic total mesorectal excision]

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of transumbilical single-incision plus one port (SIPOP) robotic total mesorectal excision. Methods: Clinical data of a 70-year-old male patient with BMI 22.1 kg/m(2) who successfully underwent transumbilical single-incision plus 1 port robotic total mesorectal resection of upper rectal cancer at the General Surgery Department of Daping Hospital of Army Military Medical University on September 18, 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Preoperative colonoscopy revealed that the distance of upper rectal cancer to anal edge was 14 cm, and the tumor size was 2.5 cm×1.5 cm×1 cm. Pathological result confirmed rectal moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. The preoperative abdominal CT showed thickened bowel-wall of upper rectum and the blurred perirectal fat, suggesting tumor infiltration. Results: The operation was successful. There were no conversion to laparotomy or abdominal auxiliary incision, and the mesorectum of the specimen was intact. The operation time was 165 minutes, the blood loss was about 20 ml, and there were no complications such as injury to peripheral organs. Postoperative pathology showed ulcerative moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the upper rectum with TNM stage IVA (T4N2b). The postoperative recovery was smooth. Patient ambulated on the 1st day, the catheter was removed on the 7th day, and discharged from the hospital on the 8th day. Conclusion: The transumbilical SIPOP robotic total mesorectal excision is safe, effective and feasible.

[Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve replacement with domestic prostheses for patients with severely stenotic bicuspid aortic valve]

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with domestic prostheses in patients with severely stenotic bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). Methods: This study was a prospective single-center non-randomized controlled study. Patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS), who underwent TAVR with domestic prostheses at the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from January 2016 to April 2020 were consecutively included in our study. Patients were divided into BAV group and tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) group according to the aortic valve morphology. Baseline characteristics, procedural outcomes were compared between the two groups, and the primary endpoint was one-month all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 100 patients aged (69.8±8.9) years were enrolled, including 71 (71%) males. There were 51 cases in BAV group and 49 cases in TAV group. Compared with TAV group, patient in the BAV group was younger ((67.1±8.6) years vs. (72.7±8.4) years, P=0.002) and had larger ascending aortic diameter at proximal part ((39.7±5.7) mm vs. (36.0±4.2) mm, P<0.001), lower Society of Thoracic Surgeons-Predicted Risk of Mortality (STS-PROM) score (3.1 (1.9, 5.4) % vs. 5.9 (2.6, 12.3) %, P=0.002). In BAV group and TAV group, the incidence of 2nd prosthesis implantation was 15.7% (8/51) and 18.4% (9/49) (P=0.721), the incidence of moderate or severe paravalvular regurgitation was 2.0% (1/51) and 0 (P=1.000), the rate of device success was 82.4% (42/51) and 81.6% (40/49) (P=0.925), respectively. One-month all-cause mortality was 2.0% (1/51) and 10.2% (5/49) (P=0.108), respectively. Echocardiography showed that postprocedural mean pressure gradient (PGmean) was higher in the BAV group (13.0 (10.0, 16.0) mmHg vs. 9.0 (7.0, 14.0) mmHg, P=0.003) (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), but the PGmean decrease post procedure as compared with that before TAVR was similar between the two groups ((36.7±16.6) mmHg vs. (36.2±17.5) mmHg, P=0.893). Conclusion: Favorable safety and efficacy are evidenced in patients with severely stenotic BAV undergoing TAVR with domestic prostheses.

Role of the active cycle of breathing technique combined with phonophoresis for the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): study protocol for a preliminary randomized controlled trial

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory lung disease characterized by coughing, the production of excess sputum, and dyspnea. Patients with excessively thick sputum may have frequent attacks or develop more serious disease. The guidelines recommend airway clearance for patients with excessive sputum who are hospitalized with COPD. The active cycle of breathing technique is the most common non-pharmacological airway clearance technique used by physiotherapists. However, the effectiveness of the technique is not always guaranteed. Active cycle of breathing techniques require the initial dilution of the sputum, usually by inhalation drugs, which may have limited effects. Recent studies have found that phonophoresis decreases inflammation, suggesting the potential of the combined usage of active cycle of breathing techniques and phonophoresis. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness and safety of combining active cycle of breathing technique and phonophoresis in treating COPD patients.

Methods and analysis

We propose a single-blind randomized controlled trial using 75 hospitalized patients diagnosed with COPD with excessive sputum production. The patients will be divided into three groups. The intervention group will receive active cycle of breathing techniques combined with phonophoresis. The two comparison groups will be treated with active cycle of breathing techniques and phonophoresis, respectively. The program will be implemented daily for 1 week. The primary outcomes will be changes in sputum viscosity and production, lung function, and pulse oximetry. Secondary outcomes include the assessment of COPD and anxiety, measured by the COPD Assessment Test scale and the Anxiety Inventory for Respiratory Disease, respectively; self-satisfaction; the degree of cooperation; and the length of hospital stay. All outcome measures, with the exception of sputum production and additional secondary outcomes, will be assessed at the commencement of the study and after 1 week’s intervention. Analysis of variance will be used to investigate differences between the groups, and a p-value of less than 0.05 (two-tailed) will be considered statistically significant.

Discussion

This study introduces a combination of active cycle of breathing techniques and phonophoresis to explore the impact of these interventions on patients hospitalized with COPD. If this combined intervention is shown to be effective, it may prove to be a better treatment for patients with COPD.

Trial registration

The trial was registered prospectively on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry on 24 December 2019.ClinicalTrials.gov ChiCTR1900028506. Registered on December 2019.

Overexpression of miRNA-433-5p protects acute spinal cord injury through activating MAPK1

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to clarify the role of microRNA-433-5p (miRNA-433-5p) in influencing pathological lesions following acute spinal cord injury (SCI) by targeting mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

SCI model was successfully established in mice by performing hitting injury procedures. Serum levels of miRNA-433-5p and MAPK1 in SCI patients and mice were determined. Grip strengths of both forelimbs in SCI mice and controls were determined. Dual-Luciferase reporter gene assay was applied to verify the binding relation between miRNA-433-5p and MAPK1. After overexpression of miRNA-433-5p and MAPK1 in vivo, the grip strength changes in SCI mice were assessed. Furthermore, the protein level of inflammatory factor iNOS in 293T cells influenced by miRNA-433-5p and MAPK1 was detected by Western blot.

RESULTS

MiRNA-433-5p was significantly downregulated in the serum of SCI patients and mice, whereas MAPK1 was up-regulated. Grip strengths of SCI mice were significantly lower than those of controls at different postoperative time points. However, this could be markedly reversed by the in vivo overexpression of miRNA-433-5p. Western blot indicated that the protein level of iNOS was remarkably downregulated in 293T cells overexpressing miRNA-433-5p. MAPK1 was confirmed as the target of miRNA-433-5p, whose expression level was negatively regulated by miRNA-433-5p. Importantly, MAPK1 partially reversed the protective role of miRNA-433-5p in grip strength of SCI mice and inflammatory response at post-SCI.

CONCLUSIONS

Overexpression of miRNA-433-5p protects SCI-induced motor dysfunction and inflammatory response by targeting MAPK1.

LINC00114 promoted nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression and radioresistance in vitro and in vivo through regulating ERK/JNK signaling pathway via targeting miR-203

OBJECTIVE

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignancy and is prone to distant metastasis and radioresistance. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in human cancers. The purpose of this study was to explore the role and the action mechanism of intergenic lncRNA (LINC00114) in NPC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The expression of LINC00114 and microRNA-203 (miR-203) was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). NPC cells were exposed to X-ray as radiation treatment. Cell proliferation, migration, cell survival fraction and apoptosis were assessed by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), transwell, colony formation, and flow cytometry assays, respectively. The expression of Cleaved-cas-3, Cleaved-cas-9, phosphor-ERK (p-ERK) and phosphor-JNK (p-JNK) was quantified by Western blot. The interaction between miR-203 and LINC00114 was predicted by bioinformatics tool microRNA.org and verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Tumor formation assay in nude mice was conducted to examine the role of LINC00114 in vivo.

RESULTS

LINC00114 was upregulated in serums from NPC patients, tissues and cell lines of NPC. LINC00114 knockdown inhibited proliferation, migration, and radioresistance of NPC cells. MiR-203 was a target of LINC00114, and miR-203 inhibition eliminated the effects of LINC00114 knockdown. Besides, the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)/c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) pathway was inactivated by LINC00114 knockdown but recovered by miR-203 inhibition. Moreover, LINC00114 knockdown suppressed tumor growth and radioresistance in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS

LINC00114 contributed to NPC development and radioresistance through the regulation of ERK/JNK signaling pathway and the mediation of miR-203, suggesting that LINC00114 was a promising biomarker to defense NPC progression and radioresistance.

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.

[Treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases with recapping laminoplasty and nerve root canal's decompression preserving the continuity of supraspinous ligament]

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of lumbar discectomy and nerve root canal's enlargement preserving the continuity of supraspinous ligament in the treatment of lumbar degenerative disease. Methods: The data of patients with lumbar degenerative disease who underwent operation from 2016 to 2018 were analyzed retrospectively, and the patients were divided into two groups according to the different operation. The treatment group (17 cases) was treated with recapping laminoplasty, lumbar discectomy and nerve root canal's enlargement, and the control group (28 cases) was treated with total laminectomy, nerve root canal's enlargement, lumbar discectomy, interbody fusion and internal fixation (PLIF). All patients were followed up for 12 to 27 months (mean 17.8 months). Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores(JOA) and visual analogue scale(VAS) of pain were used to evaluate the clinical effect before and after the operation, lumbar dynamical X-ray and Cobb angle were collecting for imaging evaluation, and the adjacent segment degeneration at the last follow-up was recorded. Results: There was no significant difference in preoperative JOA score, VAS score and Lumbar Cobb angle between the two groups (all P>0.05). The operation time in the treatment group was shorter than that in the control group, and the blood loss during operation in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group, the bed rest time of the treatment group after operation was shorter than that in the control group ((79±14) vs (118±17) min, (151±38) vs (324±70) ml and (3.4±0.7) vs (4.3±1.0) d,respectively; t=-8.508, -10.724, -3.244, all P<0.01). In addition, compared with the control group, the volume of postoperative drainage in the treatment group also decreased significantly (t=-5.637, P<0.01). There was no significant difference in JOA score between the two groups 1 year after the operation (P>0.05), but there was significant difference in VAS score between the two groups, the treatment group was better than the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the lumbar Cobb angle in the treatment group increased significantly one year after the operation (55.3°±3.2° vs 38.4°±6.2°, t=10.391, P<0.05). During the follow-up, no loosening or fracture of the implants was found in all patients. Conclusion: Treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases with recapping laminoplasty and nerve root canal's decompression preserving the continuity of supraspinous ligament by ultrasound osteotome has the same clinical effect as PLIF. It has the advantages of shortening operation time, less bleeding, better maintenance of lumbar lordosis after operation and reduction of adjacent segment degeneration.

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.

[Multicenter clinical study on the diagnosis and treatment of childhood renal tumor]

Objective: To summarize the effect of Chinese Children's Cancer Group (CCCG) Wilms tumor (WT)-2015 protocol. Methods: This was a prospective study. CCCG-WT-2015 protocol was revised on the basis of the CCCG-WT-2009 protocol. Clinical data of 288 children diagnosed with newly diagnosed kidney neoplasms in fourteen pediatric centers between September 2015 to December 2018 were summarized. The age of onset, distribution of pathological subtypes, staging, curative effect and prognostic factors of these children were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival curve and Log-Rank method was used for univariate analysis. Results: Among 288 cases with kidney neoplasms, there were 261 cases of WT, including 254 cases (97.3%) with favorable histology (FH) WT and 7 cases (2.7%) with unfavorable histology WT (UFHWT). The 3 year events free survival (EFS) rate for FHWT and UFHWT were (88.9±2.1)% and (80.0±17.9)%, which were better than that in WT-2009 (81.2% and 71.7%). In the 96 cases of stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ FHWT with indications for radiotherapy, 76 cases received radiation, another 20 cases received M protocol chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, etoposide, gentamycin, vincristine and adriamycin) instead of radiation. The 3 year EFS rate for these two groups were (84.7±4.3)% and (84.7±8.1)%(χ²=0.015, P=0.902). There were 22 renal clear cell sarcoma and 5 malignant rhabdoid tumor, 3 year EFS rate of them was (94.4±5.4)% and (20.0±17.9)%. Univariate analysis was performed for age, gender, pathological type, stage, whether rupture occurred during operation, whether complete remission (CR) occurred at the end of treatment and radiotherapy. Pathological types (χ²=44.329,P<0.01) and failure to achieve CR at the end of the treatment (χ²=49.459,P<0.01) were independent factor for predicting survival. Conclusion: Compared with CCCG-WT-2009, treatment of renal tumors in CCCG-WT-2015 study yielded good survival outcome, which can be further applied.