Evidence for Nonlinear Gluon Effects in QCD and Their Mass Number Dependence at STAR

The STAR Collaboration reports measurements of back-to-back azimuthal correlations of di-π^{0}s produced at forward pseudorapidities (2.6<η<4.0) in p+p, p+Al, and p+Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV. We observe a clear suppression of the correlated yields of back-to-back π^{0} pairs in p+Al and p+Au collisions compared to the p+p data. The observed suppression of back-to-back pairs as a function of transverse momentum suggests nonlinear gluon dynamics arising at high parton densities. The larger suppression found in p+Au relative to p+Al collisions exhibits a dependence of the saturation scale Q_{s}^{2} on the mass number A. A linear scaling of the suppression with A^{1/3} is observed with a slope of -0.09±0.01.

Physical activity patterns, genetic susceptibility, and risk of hip/knee osteoarthritis: a prospective cohort study based on the UK Biobank

OBJECTIVES

The effect of physical activity on hip/knee osteoarthritis (OA) and how it varies by genetic susceptibility to OA remains inconclusive.

METHODS

In a cohort study of UK Biobank, 436,166 OA-free participants were recruited in 2006-2010 and followed for knee/hip OA until the end of 2020. 28 physical activity-related items were collected at baseline. Cox regression was used to estimate associations between physical activity behaviors, as well as major activity patterns (i.e., significant principal components[PCs] identified by principal component analysis), and risk of OA, adjusting for multiple confounders. We further stratified the analyses by polygenic risk score (PRS) for OA to examine the impact of genetic susceptibility to OA on the studied association.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up of 11.15 years, 13,227 hip and 21,119 knee OA cases were identified. 19, out of 28, studied items showed associations with increased OA risk. Compared with low adherence group(<1^st tertile of PC score for each pattern), individuals with high adherence to five identified patterns were associated with increased risk of OA. The moderate adherence to "strenuous sports"(HR = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.89-0.97) and "walking for pleasure"(HR = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.89-0.98) patterns was associated with reduced OA. Similar risk patterns were obtained in the stratified analysis by PRS levels for OA.

CONCLUSION

High intensity of most activity patterns were associated with increased OA. However, a protective effect was suggested for moderate adherence to patterns of "strenuous sports" and "walking for pleasure" that consistent across different genetic susceptibilities, underscoring the potential benefits of moderate-intensity physical activity on OA.

Observation of a State X(2600) in the π^{+}π^{-}η' System in the Process J/ψ→γπ^{+}π^{-}η'

Based on (10087±44)×10^{6}  J/ψ events collected with the BESIII detector, the process J/ψ→γπ^{+}π^{-}η^{'} is studied using two largest decay channels of the η^{'} meson, η^{'}→γπ^{+}π^{-} and η^{'}→ηπ^{+}π^{-}, η→γγ. A new resonance, which we denote as the X(2600), is observed with a statistical significance larger than 20σ in the π^{+}π^{-}η^{'} invariant mass spectrum, and it has a connection to a structure around 1.5  GeV/c^{2} in the π^{+}π^{-} invariant mass spectrum. A simultaneous fit on the π^{+}π^{-}η^{'} and π^{+}π^{-} invariant mass spectra with the two η^{'} decay modes indicates that the mass and width of the X(2600) state are 2618.3±2.0_{-1.4}^{+16.3}  MeV/c^{2} and 195±5_{-17}^{+26}  MeV, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second systematic.

Observation of J/ψ Electromagnetic Dalitz Decays to X(1835), X(2120), and X(2370)

Using a sample of about 10^{10}  J/ψ events collected at a center-of-mass energy sqrt[s]=3.097  GeV with the BESIII detector, the electromagnetic Dalitz decays J/ψ→e^{+}e^{-}π^{+}π^{-}η^{'}, with η^{'}→γπ^{+}π^{-} and η^{'}→π^{+}π^{-}η, have been studied. The decay J/ψ→e^{+}e^{-}X(1835) is observed with a significance of 15σ, and also an e^{+}e^{-} invariant-mass dependent transition form factor of J/ψ→e^{+}e^{-}X(1835) is presented for the first time. The intermediate states X(2120) and X(2370) are also observed in the π^{+}π^{-}η^{'} invariant-mass spectrum with significances of 5.3σ and 7.3σ. The corresponding product branching fractions for J/ψ→e^{+}e^{-}X, X→π^{+}π^{-}η^{'} [X=X(1835), X(2120), and X(2370)] are reported.

[Clinical characteristics and influencing factors of children with parent-reported food allergy]

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics and influencing factors of children with parent-reported food allergy (FA), thus providing empirical evidence for facilitating the effective utilization of medical history information and promoting better health education for parents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, recruiting all 596 children under 3 years of age who underwent physical examinations from July to August 2019 at the Department of Child Health Care, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. Children were carried out with questionnaires, skin prick test, and diagnosed with FA through oral food challenge (OFC) by pediatricians. The parent-reported incidence rate, symptoms of FA, and the possible influencing factors, including demographic characteristics, family history of allergy, in-utero exposure to smoke and antibiotic use, feeding methods after birth, and residential environment were collected by questionnaire. The differences of clinical characteristics between parent-reported FA and medically diagnosed FA were analyzed by chi-square test. Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors associated with parent-reported FA. Results: A total of 596 children (316 boys and 280 girls) were recruited for this study. The incidence rate of FA by parent-report (22.0%, 131/596) was higher than that by medical diagnosis (9.9%, 59/596) (χ²=32.46, P<0.001). There were 36.6% (48/131) of children with parent-reported FA and 2.4% (11/465) of children without parent-reported FA receiving medical diagnosis of FA. Among children with parent-reported allergic symptoms, 37.5% (24/64) of those with gastrointestinal symptoms and 31.5% (23/73) of those with skin symptoms received medical diagnosis of FA, respectively. Six out of 7 children with co-presenting cutaneous and gastrointestinal symptoms were diagnosed with FA. Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed that family history of allergy (OR=1.83 (95%CI 1.22-2.73), P=0.003) and damp living environments (OR=2.33 (95%CI 1.13-4.79), P=0.022) were associated with higher likelihood of parent-reported FA. Conclusions: The incidence rate of parent-reported FA is higher than medically diagnosed FA. Clinicians should be highly suspicious of the possibility of FA in children with both cutaneous and gastrointestinal symptoms. Family history of allergy and damp living environments may increase the possibility of parent-reported FA.

P-129 single human oocyte and cumulus cells transcriptome analyses reveal the stage-dependent energy metabolism dynamics during oocyte maturation before ovulation

Study question

What is the energy metabolic crosstalk between the oocyte and cumulus cells (CCs) during oocyte maturation before ovulation?

Summary answer

Cumulus cells provide local high progesterone to assist fertilization and lipids to support oocyte and embryo development during the late stage of oocyte maturation.

What is known already

There is increasing evidence showing that the maturation of oocytes relies on the materials and energy provided by CCs. In the absence of CCs, bovine oocytes exhibit metabolic disturbances, and similarly, in the absence of an oocyte, the metabolically driven function of CCs is also inhibited. However, their fundamental energy metabolic interactions and crosstalk, especially in the late stage of human oocyte maturation, are poorly understood.

Study design, size, duration

A total of 33 human oocytes (GV:22, MI:11) and 97 corresponding CCs (GV:35, MI:30, MII:32) were collected from 47 preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy patients.10 cells were randomly selected from individually cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) per CC sample to avoid bias due to the different number of CCs in each follicle. The samples were collected within a time frame of 3 months. RNA was isolated and performed transcriptome sequencing.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

The oocytes removed from CGCs were quickly transferred to the operating dish for marking, the maturation stage was assessed and recorded by observing the nucleus of oocytes, the CCs were mechanically isolated. Isolated RNA from oocytes and CCs underwent library preparation using an oligo deoxy-thymidine(dT) priming approach followed by deep sequencing. Data processing and bioinformatics analysis were performed using software, mainly including FASTP, STAR, String Tie, and DESeq2 along with functional annotation analysis.

Main results and the role of chance

Following deep sequencing of the single human oocyte (GV; MI) and corresponding CCs (GV; MI; MII), we found cholesterol and lipid metabolism-related transcripts of CCs are increasingly expressed during the late stage of oocyte maturation, the expression of progesterone synthesis-related transcripts was also increased. Our results suggest that cholesterol produced by CCs provides local high progesterone for mature oocytes in preparation for fertilization, while lipids from CCs serve as a more efficient energy source for oocyte and embryo development. Moreover, we found that oocyte maturation is a dynamic process and MI oocytes may be subdivided into early MI oocytes and late MI oocytes.

Limitations, reasons for caution

Since the MII oocytes from patients were used for clinical assisted reproduction, only MII-CCs were obtained, the data of MII oocytes were downloaded from the GEO database and merged with our data, further improvement in the future is needed.

Wider implications of the findings

This study may provide insights into how to intervene in natural conception and new ideas for promoting oocyte maturation in vitro through fatty acids supplementation in clinically assisted reproduction.

Trial registration number

not applicable

P-314 Quantitative analysis of uterine peristalsis using optical flow for motion quantification

Study question

Do women with adenomyosis have altered uterine peristalsis?

Summary answer

Women with adenomyosis have altered uterine peristalsis on transvaginal sonography (TVS), as measured using optical flow for motion quantification.

What is known already

Adenomyosis can reduce the chance of clinical pregnancy in women undergoing assisted conception, with altered uterine peristalsis proposed as a mechanism. Uterine peristalsis can be visualised by TVS and is thought to play an important role in sperm transport and embryo implantation. Ultrastructural myometrial abnormalities in adenomyosis cause a disturbance in normal myocyte contractility with subsequent loss of normal rhythmic contraction. We aimed to develop an objective tool to quantify uterine peristalsis on TVS using an algorithm based on optical flow for wave motion quantification in women with adenomyosis.

Study design, size, duration

Prospective observational cohort study, July - December 2021, of women with moderate/severe adenomyosis (n = 16) and a normal pelvis (n = 21), having TVS during assisted conception. TVS was performed in the mid-sagittal plane for 4 minutes at baseline (BL), day 6-12 of ovarian stimulation (OS) and day of embryo transfer (ET). Recordings were stored offline for analysis using 3D Slicer (Ver. 4.11) and sampled at constant intervals to achieve a set of frames for optical flow analysis.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

We recruited women with moderate/severe adenomyosis or normal uterus on TVS. Optical flow was used to track pixels over successive TVS frames. Pixel-level displacements for points at endometrial-myometrial junction were used to compute time-period(inverse of frequency, 1/f) and amplitude(u) by fitting to the 2D-wave equation. Fit error was taken as a measure of coordination of wave at endometrial-myometrial junction(uterine peristalsis - up). Myometrial zone standard deviation quantifies spread, a measure of coordination of myometrial contractility(mc).

Main results and the role of chance

The observed wave of uterine peristalsis (up) at the endometrial-myometrial junction in women with adenomyosis showed a significantly poorer fit with the ideal wave equation compared to women with a normal uterus at all time points (BL (+ 0.725), OS (+ 0.612) and ET (+ 0.627) (n = 37, p &lt; 0.001)), indicating lower coordination of uterine peristalsis in women with adenomyosis compared to women with a normal uterus. Coordination of myometrial contractility was also significantly lower in women with adenomyosis compared to women with a normal uterus at all time points (BL (+ 0.656) , OS (+ 0.510) and ET (+ 0.639) (n = 37, p &lt; 0.001). Statistically significant difference was not found in wave amplitude or frequency between groups (p &gt; 0.06 for both).

Limitations, reasons for caution

Optical flow for motion quantification has been used here to quantify uterine peristalsis in women with adenomyosis and women with a normal uterus and would require validation prior to use in other uterine pathology.

Wider implications of the findings

Women with adenomyosis have altered uterine peristalsis and myometrial contractility, which may account for their reduction in chances of conception. The proposed approach for wave motion quantification is an objective tool to quantify uterine peristalsis, with potential for wide clinical application in the gynaecology and assisted conception setting.

Trial registration number

Not applicable

[Update on the medical management of parathyroid carcinoma]

Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare endocrine malignancy with an increasing rate of incidence. Most parathyroid carcinoma patients will develop local recurrence or metastases leading to poor prognosis. Medical management is the mainstay of treatment for patients with unresectable parathyroid carcinoma. However, the therapeutic outcome of medical management remains unsatisfactory restricted by limited options and efficacy. With the deepening of research, several novel drugs have been reported to be applied in the treatment of parathyroid carcinoma. Calcimimetics and receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand inhibitors aiming to control hypercalcemia have been applied in the endocrine therapy of parathyroid carcinoma. Besides, preliminary studies have shown the therapeutic effects of targeted therapy and immunotherapy on parathyroid carcinoma. These new drugs have shed light on this clinical dilemma; however, their clinical efficacy remains to be determined. In this article, the recent progress in the medical management of parathyroid carcinoma is updated.

[Research advances in transmission dynamic models on hand, foot, and mouth disease]

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common childhood infectious disease caused by various enteroviruses. China has the most significant number of reported cases and deaths of HFMD over the globe. Understanding the epidemic laws of HFMD can provide a scientific basis for designing prevention and control measures. The dynamic transmission models focus on the transmission mechanism of infectious diseases. They can simulate the actual situation to study the epidemic rules of diseases by adding, deleting, and subdividing compartments. More researchers have paid attention to dynamic models because of their high flexibility. To carry out the dynamic model of the HFMD research more effectively, a comprehensive understanding of related research progress in this field is deeply needed. In this paper, based on various researchers' different research purposes of dynamic models, the research progress was classified and summarized, providing meaningful guidance for model construction methods and future research directions and references for dynamic modeling of other models of infectious diseases. It was found that most studies used the SIR dynamic model or its extended model (such as the SEIR model), and few studies contained a complex factor compartment. Some important epidemiological parameters (such as R₀) were obtained by studying the HFMD cases in a specific region, simulating different intervention scenarios to evaluate the effect of measures, or revealing the future trend by model prediction. However, there is no dynamic model simultaneously considering age structure, population moving, seasonality and periodicity, and vaccination.

Simulation of Random Deformable Motion in Soft-Tissue Cone-Beam CT with Learned Models

Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is widely used for guidance in interventional radiology but it is susceptible to motion artifacts. Motion in interventional CBCT features a complex combination of diverse sources including quasi-periodic, consistent motion patterns such as respiratory motion, and aperiodic, quasi-random, motion such as peristalsis. Recent developments in image-based motion compensation methods include approaches that combine autofocus techniques with deep learning models for extraction of image features pertinent to CBCT motion. Training of such deep autofocus models requires the generation of large amounts of realistic, motion-corrupted CBCT. Previous works on motion simulation were mostly focused on quasi-periodic motion patterns, and reliable simulation of complex combined motion with quasi-random components remains an unaddressed challenge. This work presents a framework aimed at synthesis of realistic motion trajectories for simulation of deformable motion in soft-tissue CBCT. The approach leveraged the capability of conditional generative adversarial network (GAN) models to learn the complex underlying motion present in unlabeled, motion-corrupted, CBCT volumes. The approach is designed for training with unpaired clinical CBCT in an unsupervised fashion. This work presents a first feasibility study, in which the model was trained with simulated data featuring known motion, providing a controlled scenario for validation of the proposed approach prior to extension to clinical data. Our proof-of-concept study illustrated the potential of the model to generate realistic, variable simulation of CBCT deformable motion fields, consistent with three trends underlying the designed training data: i) the synthetic motion induced only diffeomorphic deformations - with Jacobian Determinant larger than zero; ii) the synthetic motion showed median displacement of 0. 5 mm in regions predominantly static in the training (e.g., the posterior aspect of the patient laying supine), compared to a median displacement of 3.8 mm in regions more prone to motion in the training; and iii) the synthetic motion exhibited predominant directionality consistent with the training set, resulting in larger motion in the superior-inferior direction (median and maximum amplitude of 4.58 mm and 20 mm, > 2x larger than the two remaining direction). Together, the proposed framework shows the feasibility for realistic motion simulation and synthesis of variable CBCT data.

MiR-466 as a poor prognostic predictor suppresses cell proliferation and EMT in breast cancer cells by targeting PSMA7

The article "MiR-466 as a poor prognostic predictor suppresses cell proliferation and EMT in breast cancer cells by targeting PSMA7, by Y. Xiao, S.-J. Zhang, X. Yan, C. Wu, Q.-W. Liu, H.-X. Dong, L.-J. Wang, Y. Hu, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2021; 25 (18): 5625-5635-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202109_26782-PMID: 34604955" has been retracted by the authors as they state that some data cannot be repeated by further experiments. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/26782.

Probing CP symmetry and weak phases with entangled double-strange baryons

Though immensely successful, the standard model of particle physics does not offer any explanation as to why our Universe contains so much more matter than antimatter. A key to a dynamically generated matter-antimatter asymmetry is the existence of processes that violate the combined charge conjugation and parity (CP) symmetry1. As such, precision tests of CP symmetry may be used to search for physics beyond the standard model. However, hadrons decay through an interplay of strong and weak processes, quantified in terms of relative phases between the amplitudes. Although previous experiments constructed CP observables that depend on both strong and weak phases, we present an approach where sequential two-body decays of entangled multi-strange baryon-antibaryon pairs provide a separation between these phases. Our method, exploiting spin entanglement between the double-strange Ξ- baryon and its antiparticle2 [Formula: see text], has enabled a direct determination of the weak-phase difference, (ξP - ξS) = (1.2 ± 3.4 ± 0.8) × 10-2 rad. Furthermore, three independent CP observables can be constructed from our measured parameters. The precision in the estimated parameters for a given data sample size is several orders of magnitude greater than achieved with previous methods3. Finally, we provide an independent measurement of the recently debated Λ decay parameter αΛ (refs. 4,5). The [Formula: see text] asymmetry is in agreement with and compatible in precision to the most precise previous measurement4.

Measurements of Proton High-Order Cumulants in sqrt[s_{NN}]=3 GeV Au+Au Collisions and Implications for the QCD Critical Point

We report cumulants of the proton multiplicity distribution from dedicated fixed-target Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3.0  GeV, measured by the STAR experiment in the kinematic acceptance of rapidity (y) and transverse momentum (p_{T}) within -0.5<y<0 and 0.4<p_{T}<2.0  GeV/c. In the most central 0%-5% collisions, a proton cumulant ratio is measured to be C_{4}/C_{2}=-0.85±0.09 (stat)±0.82 (syst), which is 2σ below the Poisson baseline with respect to both the statistical and systematic uncertainties. The hadronic transport UrQMD model reproduces our C_{4}/C_{2} in the measured acceptance. Compared to higher energy results and the transport model calculations, the suppression in C_{4}/C_{2} is consistent with fluctuations driven by baryon number conservation and indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions. These data imply that the QCD critical region, if created in heavy-ion collisions, could only exist at energies higher than 3 GeV.

Measurements of _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H Lifetimes and Yields in Au+Au Collisions in the High Baryon Density Region

We report precision measurements of hypernuclei _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H lifetimes obtained from Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3.0  GeV and 7.2 GeV collected by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and the first measurement of _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H midrapidity yields in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3.0  GeV. _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H, being the two simplest bound states composed of hyperons and nucleons, are cornerstones in the field of hypernuclear physics. Their lifetimes are measured to be 221±15(stat)±19(syst)  ps for _{Λ}^{3}H and 218±6(stat)±13(syst)  ps for _{Λ}^{4}H. The p_{T}-integrated yields of _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H are presented in different centrality and rapidity intervals. It is observed that the shape of the rapidity distribution of _{Λ}^{4}H is different for 0%-10% and 10%-50% centrality collisions. Thermal model calculations, using the canonical ensemble for strangeness, describes the _{Λ}^{3}H yield well, while underestimating the _{Λ}^{4}H yield. Transport models, combining baryonic mean-field and coalescence (jam) or utilizing dynamical cluster formation via baryonic interactions (phqmd) for light nuclei and hypernuclei production, approximately describe the measured _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H yields. Our measurements provide means to precisely assess our understanding of the fundamental baryonic interactions with strange quarks, which can impact our understanding of more complicated systems involving hyperons, such as the interior of neutron stars or exotic hypernuclei.

[Reliability and validity of food allergy quality of life-parental burden scale in China]

Objective: To translate the food allergy quality of life-parental burden (FAQL-PB) scale into Chinese and test its reliability and validity among the caregivers of children with food allergy. Methods: The caregivers of 222 children with food allergy were enrolled by convenient sampling from October 2020 to October 2021 in the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Medical University. The forward-backward translation and cultural adaptation of the original FAQL-PB scale was performed in accordance with Brislin's model. Item analysis was used to select items. The validity of the questionnaire was analyzed with the item-level content validity and the exploratory factors analysis. And the internal consistency coefficient, split-half reliability and test-retest reliability were used to evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire. Results: The Pearson correlation coefficients of the scores between each item and total scale ranged from 0.72 to 0.88 (P<0.01). The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) ranged from 0.83 to 1.00, scale-level content validity index/universal agreement (S-CVI/UA) was 0.94, and scale-level content validity index/average (S-CVI/Ave) was 0.99. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that Chinese version of FAQL-PB scale could be classified into two dimensions: emotional distress and limitations on life, with the accumulative variance contribution rate of 74.08%. The Cronbach's α coefficient, split-half reliability coefficient and test-retest reliability of the Chinese version of FAQL-PB scale were 0.97, 0.98 and 0.71, respectively. Conclusion: The Chinese version of FAQL-PB scale is proved to be reliable and eligible, and can be used as a specific tool to investigate the quality of life in family of children with food hypersensitivity.