Observation of Seven Astrophysical Tau Neutrino Candidates with IceCube

We report on a measurement of astrophysical tau neutrinos with 9.7 yr of IceCube data. Using convolutional neural networks trained on images derived from simulated events, seven candidate ν_{τ} events were found with visible energies ranging from roughly 20 TeV to 1 PeV and a median expected parent ν_{τ} energy of about 200 TeV. Considering backgrounds from astrophysical and atmospheric neutrinos, and muons from π^{±}/K^{±} decays in atmospheric air showers, we obtain a total estimated background of about 0.5 events, dominated by non-ν_{τ} astrophysical neutrinos. Thus, we rule out the absence of astrophysical ν_{τ} at the 5σ level. The measured astrophysical ν_{τ} flux is consistent with expectations based on previously published IceCube astrophysical neutrino flux measurements and neutrino oscillations.

[Effect of LAG3 deficiency on natural killer cell function and hepatic fibrosis in mice infected with Echinococcus multilocularis]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of LAG-3 deficiency (LAG3-/-) on natural killer (NK) cell function and hepatic fibrosis in mice infected with Echinococcus multilocularis.

METHODS

C57BL/6 mice, each weighing (20 ± 2) g, were divided into the LAG3-/- and wild type (WT) groups, and each mouse in both groups was inoculated with 3 000 E. multilocularis protoscoleces via the hepatic portal vein. Mouse liver and spleen specimens were collected 12 weeks post-infection, sectioned and stained with sirius red, and the hepatic lesions and fibrosis were observed. Mouse hepatic and splenic lymphocytes were isolated, and flow cytometry was performed to detect the proportions of hepatic and splenic NK cells, the expression of CD44, CD25 and CD69 molecules on NK cell surface, and the secretion of interferon γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10 and IL-17A.

RESULTS

Sirius red staining showed widening of inflammatory cell bands and hyperplasia of fibrotic connective tissues around mouse hepatic lesions, as well as increased deposition of collagen fibers in the LAG3-/-group relative to the WT group. Flow cytometry revealed lower proportions of mouse hepatic (6.29% ± 1.06% vs. 11.91% ± 1.85%, P < 0.000 1) and splenic NK cells (4.44% ± 1.22% vs. 5.85% ± 1.10%, P > 0.05) in the LAG3-/- group than in the WT group, and the mean fluorescence intensity of CD44 was higher on the surface of mouse hepatic NK cells in the LAG3-/- group than in the WT group (t = -3.234, P < 0.01), while no significant differences were found in the mean fluorescence intensity of CD25 or CD69 on the surface of mouse hepaticNK cells between the LAG3-/- and WT groups (both P values > 0.05). There were significant differences between the LAG3-/- and WT groups in terms of the percentages of IFN-γ (t = -0.723, P > 0.05), TNF-α (t = -0.659, P > 0.05), IL-4 (t = -0.263, P > 0.05), IL-10 (t = -0.455, P > 0.05) or IL-17A secreted by mouse hepatic NK cells (t = 0.091, P > 0.05), and the percentage of IFN-γ secreted by mouse splenic NK cells was higher in the LAG3-/- group than in the WT group (58.40% ± 1.64% vs. 50.40% ± 4.13%; t = -4.042, P < 0.01); however, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the proportions of TNF-α (t = -1.902, P > 0.05), IL-4 (t = -1.333, P > 0.05), IL-10 (t = -1.356, P > 0.05) or IL-17A secreted by mouse splenic NK cells (t = 0.529, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

During the course of E. multilocularis infections, LAG3-/- promotes high-level secretion of IFN-γ by splenic NK cells, which may participate in the reversal the immune function of NK cells, resulting in aggravation of hepatic fibrosis.

Mechanistic Insights into the Effects of Ureas and Monomers on the Ring-Opening Alternating Copolymerization of Epoxides and Anhydrides Catalyzed by Organic Base/Urea

Aliphatic polyester is an important polyester material with good biocompatibility and degradability, which can be synthesized through ring-opening alternating copolymerization (ROAC) of epoxides and anhydrides. Herein, density functional theory (DFT) is used to explore the mechanism of ROAC of epoxides (propylene oxide (PO), styrene oxide (SO), epichlorohydrin (ECH), and cyclohexane oxide (CHO)) and phthalic anhydride (PA) catalyzed by bis(triphenylphosphine) ammonium chloride (PPNCl) and ureas. It was found that the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of epoxides is the rate-controlling step, and the benzyl alcohol (BnOH) as the initiator has little effect on the polymerization activity, which was consistent with previous experimental results. Calculated comparisons of the ROAC activity of CHO/PA catalyzed by four different ureas indicate that as the Lewis acidity of the urea increased, the energy barriers of the copolymerization increased and the activity decreased. The main reason was that the strong hydrogen-bonding interactions stabilized the key intermediate of the rate-controlling step and inhibited subsequent monomer insertion. Based on this, a series of new ureas with higher catalytic activity were designed by introducing electron-donating substituents. In SO polymerization, increasing the Lewis acidity of urea can improve the SO regioselectivity. In addition, the monomer ECH with CH2Cl shows higher activity of ROAC than PO and SO, which could be ascribed to the fact that the strong electron-withdrawing Cl atom stabilizes the transition state in the rate-controlling step and reduces the reaction energy barrier.

Timing of induction of labor in suspected macrosomia: retrospective cohort study, systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Large-for-gestational-age (LGA) is associated with several adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Although many studies have found that early induction of labor (eIOL) in LGA reduces the incidence of shoulder dystocia (SD), no current guidelines recommend this particular strategy, due to concerns about increased rates of cesarean delivery (CD) and neonatal complications. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the timing of IOL in LGA fetuses affects maternal and neonatal outcomes in a single center; and to combine these results with the evidence reported in the literature.

METHODS

This study comprised two parts. The first was a retrospective cohort study that included: consecutive patients with singleton pregnancy, an estimated fetal weight (EFW) ≥90th percentile on ultrasound (US) between 35+0 and 39+0 weeks of gestation (WG), who were eligible for normal vaginal delivery. The second part was a systematic review of literature and meta-analysis that included the results of the first part as well as all previously reported studies that have compared IOL to expectant management in patients with LGA. The perinatal outcomes were CD, operative vaginal delivery (OVD), SD, brachial plexus palsy, anal sphincter injury, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), APGAR score, umbilical arterial pH, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), phototherapy, and bone fracture.

RESULTS

Retrospective cohort: of the 547 patients, 329 (60.1%) were induced and 218 (39.9%) entered spontaneous labor. Following covariate balancing, CD was significantly higher in the IOL group in comparison to the spontaneous labor group. This difference only became apparent beyond 40WG (hazard ratio: 1.9, p=0.030). The difference between both groups for shoulder dystocia was not statistically significant. Systematic review and metanalysis: 17 studies were included in addition to our own results giving a total sample size of 111,300 participants. When IOL was performed <40+0WG, the risk for SD was significantly lower in the IOL group (OR: 0.64, 95%CI: 0.42-0.98, I2 =19%). There was no significant difference in CD rate between IOL and expectant management after pooling the results of these 17 studies. However, when removing the studies in which IOL was done exclusively before 40+0WG, the risk for CD in the remaining studies (IOL not exclusively <40+0WG) was significantly higher in the IOL group (odds ratio [OR]: 1.46, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.02-2.09, I2 =56%). There were no statistically significant differences between IOL and expectant management for the remaining perinatal outcomes. Nulliparity, history of CD, and low Bishop score but not methods of induction were independent risk factors for intrapartum CD in patients who were induced for LGA.

CONCLUSION

Timing of IOL in patients with suspected macrosomia significantly impacts perinatal adverse outcomes. IOL has no impact on rates of SD but does increase CD when considered irrespective of gestational age, but it may decrease the risk of SD without increasing the risk of other adverse maternal outcomes, in particular cesarean section when performed before 40+0 WG. (GRADE: Low/Very low). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ROS-dependent catalytic mechanism of melatonin metabolism and its application in the measurement of reactive oxygen

Melatonin (Mel) is an endogenous active molecule whose metabolism progress significantly influences its bioactivity. However, the detailed metabolic pathway of Mel in the pathological state has not yet been fully illustrated. In this study, 16 metabolites of Mel in cancer cells and human liver microsomes were identified, of which seven novel metabolites were newly discovered. Among them, 2-hydroxymelatonin (2-O-Mel), as the major metabolite in cancer cells, was revealed for the first time, which was different from the metabolite found in the human liver. Furthermore, CYP1A1/1A2- and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated 2-hydroxylation reactions of Mel were verified to be the two metabolic pathways in the liver and cancer cells, respectively. ROS-dependent formation of 2-O-Mel was the major pathway in cancer cells. Furthermore, the underlying catalytic mechanism of Mel to 2-O-Mel in the presence of ROS was fully elucidated using computational chemistry analysis. Therefore, the generation of 2-O-Mel from Mel could serve as another index for the endogenous reactive oxygen level. Finally, based on the ROS-dependent production of 2-O-Mel, Mel was successfully used for detecting the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin in human blood. Our investigation further enriched the metabolic pathway of Mel, especially for the ROS-dependent formation of 2-O-Mel that serves as a diagnostic and therapeutic target for the rational use of Mel in clinics.

Using a single complex to predict the reaction energy profile: a case study of Pd/Ni-catalyzed ethylene polymerization

Mechanism-driven catalyst screening could be greatly accelerated by quantitative prediction models of the reaction energy profile. Here, we propose a novel method for molecular representation, taking palladium- and nickel-catalyzed ethylene polymerization as model reactions. The geometric parameters (GPfra) and electron occupancies (EOfra) from the non-ligand fragment of the η3-complex were extracted as the molecular descriptors, followed by constructing the reaction energy profile prediction models on the basis of various regression algorithms. The models showed great accuracy with respect to both theoretical and experimental data. More importantly, the models are convenient for training and utilization. On one hand, all the features were easily captured from the single η3-complex. On the other hand, further investigation also demonstrated that the models could be constructed with a small training sample size. We believe that our featurization method could possibly be generalized to more organometallic reactions and paves the way to efficient catalyst design.

Chemoradiotherapy Combined with Nab-Paclitaxel plus Cisplatin in Patients with Locally Advanced Borderline Resectable or Unresectable Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Phase I/II Study

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX) plus cisplatin as the regimen of conversional chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) in locally advanced borderline resectable or unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

MATERIALS/METHODS

Patients with locally advanced ESCC (cT3-4, Nany, M0-1, M1 was limited to lymph node metastasis in the supraclavicular area) were enrolled. All the patients received the cCRT of nab-PTX plus cisplatin. After the cCRT, those resectable patients received esophagectomy; those unresectable patients continued to receive the definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). The locoregional control (LRC), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), distant metastasis free survival (DMFS), pathological complete response (pCR), R0 resection rate and adverse events (AEs) were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 45 patients with ESCC treated from October 2019 to May 2021 were finally included. The median follow-up time was 30.3 months. The LRC, OS, EFS, DMFS at 1and 2 years were 81.5%, 86.6%, 64.3%, 73.2% and 72.4%, 68.8%, 44.8%, 52.7% respectively. 21 patients (46.7%) received conversional chemoradiotherapy plus surgery (cCRT+S). The pCR rate and R0 resection rate were 47.6% and 84.0%. The LRC rate at 1 and 2 years were 95.0%, 87.1% in cCRT+S patients and 69.3%, 58.7% in dCRT patients respectively (HR, 5.14; 95% CI, 1.10-23.94; P = 0.021). The OS rate at 1 and 2 years were 95.2% and 84.2% in resectable patients compared to 78.8% and 54.4% in unresectable patients (HR, 3.41; 95% CI, 1.10-10.61; P = 0.024). The toxicities during chemoradiotherapy were tolerated, the most common grade 3-4 toxicities were radiation esophagitis (15.6%).

CONCLUSION

Nab-PTX plus cisplatin were effective and safe as the regimen of conversional chemoradiotherapy of ESCC. The patients receiving conversional chemoradiotherapy plus surgery (cCRT+S) were prone to have a better survival.

[Effect of Echinococcus multilocularis infection on Tim3 expression in spleen natural killer cells of mice]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of Echinococcus multilocularis infection on Tim3 expression and its co-expression with immune checkpoint molecules 2B4 and LAG3 in spleen natural killer (NK) cells of mice.

METHODS

C57BL/6 mice, each weighing (20 ± 2) g, were randomly divided into a high-dose infection group (15 mice), a low-dose infection group (13 mice), and a control group (11 mice). Mice in the high- and low-dose infection groups were inoculated with 2 000 and 50 Echinococcus multilocularis protoscolices via the hepatic portal vein, while animals in the control group was injected with an equivalent amount of physiological saline via the hepatic portal vein. Mouse spleen cells were harvested 12 and 24 weeks post-infection, and Tim3 expression and its co-expression with 2B4 and LAG3 in NK cells were detected using flow cytometry.

RESULTS

There were significant differences in the proportions of Tim3 expression (F = 13.559, P < 0.001) and Tim3 and 2B4 co-expression (F = 12.465, P < 0.001) in mouse spleen NK cells among groups 12 weeks post-infection with E. multilocularis, and the proportion of Tim3 expression was significantly higher in mouse spleen NK cells in the low-dose infection group [(23.84 ± 2.28)%] than in the high-dose infection group [(15.72 ± 3.67)%] and the control group [(16.14 ± 3.83)%] (both P values < 0.01), while the proportion of Tim3 and 2B4 co-expression was significantly higher in mouse spleen NK cells in the low-dose infection group [(22.20 ± 2.13)%] than in the high-dose infection group [(14.17 ± 3.81)%] and the control group [(15.20 ± 3.77)%] (both P values < 0.01). There were significant differences in the proportions of Tim3 expression (F = 5.243, P < 0.05) and Tim3 and 2B4 co-expression (F = 4.659, P < 0.05) in mouse spleen NK cells among groups 24 weeks post-infection with E. multilocularis infection, and the proportions of Tim3 expression and Tim3 and 2B4 co-expression were significantly lower in mouse spleen NK cells in the high-dose infection group [(20.55 ± 7.04)% and (20.98 ± 7.12)%] than in the control group [(31.38 ± 3.19)% and (31.25 ± 3.06)%] (both P values < 0.05), and there were no significantly difference between the proportions of Tim3 expression and Tim3 and 2B4 co-expression in splenic NK cells in the low-dose infection group [(26.80 ± 6.47)% and (26.48 ± 6.48)%] and the control group (both P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the proportions of Tim3 and LAG3 co-expression in mouse spleen NK cells among groups 12 (F = 2.283, P > 0.05) and 24 weeks post-infection (F = 0.375, P > 0.05). In the low-dose infection group, there were no significant differences in the proportions of Tim3 expression or Tim3 and 2B4 co-expression in mouse spleen NK cells 12 (t = -1.137, P > 0.05) or 24 weeks post-infection (t = -1.658, P > 0.05), and the proportion of Tim3 and LAG3 co-expression increased in mouse spleen NK cells 24 weeks post-infection relative to 12 weeks post-infection (t = -5.261, P < 0.01). In the highdose infection group, there was no significant difference in the proportion of Tim3 expression in mouse spleen NK cells 12 and 24 weeks post-infection (t = -1.546, P > 0.05); however, the proportions of Tim3 co-expression with 2B4 and LAG3 increased in mouse splenic NK cells 24 weeks post-infection relative to 12 weeks post-infection (t = -2.425 and -4.745, both P values < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The Tim3 expression and Tim3 co-expression with LAG3 and 2B4 on spleen NK cells is affected by doses of E. multilocularis infection and disease stages, and present different phenotypes during the course of alveolar echinococcosis. NK cells tend to form an immunosuppressive phenotype with the progression of E. multilocularis infection, which facilitates immune escape and chronic parasitism of E. multilocularis.

Phosphine-functionalized amidinate ligated rare-earth metal complexes for highly 3,4-selective living polymerization of 1,3-conjugated dienes

A series of rare-earth metal bis(alkyl) complexes have been prepared via protonolysis reactions of tris(aminobenzyl) complexes (Ln(CH₂C₆H₄N(Me)₂-o)₃) with phosphine-functionalized amidinated ligands (^DippNCN(CH₂)_nPPh₂, n = 2 (L1-H) and n = 3 (L2-H)). The X-ray diffraction of P2-Sc (^DippNCN(CH₂)₃PPh₂Sc(CH₂C₆H₄N(Me)₂-o)₂) showed the un-coordination of the diphenylphosphine group due to the inherent saturation of the central metal ion. In conjunction with [Ph₃C][B(C₆F₅)₄], all the rare-earth metal complexes showed a high catalytic activity for the polymerization of 1,3-conjugated dienes (isoprene, β-myrcene and β-farnesene), affording highly 3,4-regular polymers (up to 100% 3,4-) with high molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution. After the abstraction of the alkyl moiety -CH₂C₆H₄N(Me)₂-o of P1-Sc by [Ph₃C][B(C₆F₅)₄], the species with the coordination of the diphenylphosphine group to the central metal probably formed, as shown in the ³¹P NMR spectra and DFT calculation results, and it might serve as the true active species in the 3,4-selective polymerization of 1,3-conjugated dienes.

Observation of high-energy neutrinos from the Galactic plane

The origin of high-energy cosmic rays, atomic nuclei that continuously impact Earth's atmosphere, is unknown. Because of deflection by interstellar magnetic fields, cosmic rays produced within the Milky Way arrive at Earth from random directions. However, cosmic rays interact with matter near their sources and during propagation, which produces high-energy neutrinos. We searched for neutrino emission using machine learning techniques applied to 10 years of data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. By comparing diffuse emission models to a background-only hypothesis, we identified neutrino emission from the Galactic plane at the 4.5σ level of significance. The signal is consistent with diffuse emission of neutrinos from the Milky Way but could also arise from a population of unresolved point sources.

Multiplex Chroma Response Wearable Hydrogel Patch: Visual Monitoring of Urea in Body Fluids for Health Prognosis

Visual wearable devices can rapid intuitively monitor biomarkers in body fluids to indicate the human health status and provide valuable reference for further medical diagnosis. However, unavoidable interference factors such as skin color, natural light, and background luminescence can interfere with the visualization accuracy of flexible wearable devices, limiting their practical sensing application. Here, we designed a wearable sensing patch via an embedded upconversion optical probe in a 3D porous polyacrylamide hydrogel, exhibiting a multiplex chroma response to urea based on the inner filter effect, which overcomes the susceptibility to external conditions due to its near-infrared excited luminescence and improves the resolution and accuracy of visual sensing. Furthermore, a highly compatible portable sensing platform combined with a smartphone was designed to achieve in situ rapid quantitative analysis of urea. The limit of detection values of the upconversion optical probe and hydrogel sensor are as low as 1.4 and 30 μM respectively, exhibiting the practicality in different scenarios. The designed sensing patch provides a convenient and accurate sensing strategy for the detection of biomarkers in body fluids and has the potential to be developed into a point-of-care device to provide disease early warning and clinical diagnosis.

Valgus-varus deformity induced abnormal tissue metabolism, inflammatory damage and apoptosis in broilers

1. This study explored the tissue metabolic status and the relationship with inflammation in valgus-valgus deformity (VVD) broilers with increasing age.2. Tissue and blood from VVD and healthy broilers were collected at two, four and five weeks old. A fully automated biochemical analyser, real-time PCR, HE staining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to detect tissue metabolic indexes, mRNA levels of inflammation and apoptosis cytokines in immune organs, histological changes and serum inflammation and immune-related protein contents in VVD broilers.3. The results showed that VVD increased the levels of total protein, albumin, alanine aminotransferase at five weeks of age, aspartate aminotransferase, urea and creatine kinase in blood at two weeks of age. It upregulated the gene expression of inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, NF-κB and TGF-β and apoptotic factors FAS, Bcl-2, caspase-3 and 9 in immune organs; increased levels of serum proteins TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 and decreased levels of serum immunoglobulins IgY and CD3⁺.4. In addition, with increasing age, IL-10 gene expression gradually increased in the BF and decreased in the spleen.5. In conclusion, VVD broilers have disorders of liver and kidney metabolism, inflammation and apoptosis of immune organs and increased levels of serum inflammatory factor proteins.

Access to Disentangled Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene via a Binuclear Synergic Effect

Disentangled ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (dis-UHMWPE) has excellent processability but can be achieved under extreme conditions. Herein, we report ethylene polymerization with the binuclear half-sandwich scandium complexes C1-Sc₂ and C2-Sc₂ to afford UHMWPE. C1-Sc₂ bearing a short linker shows higher activity and gives higher molecular weight PEs than C2-Sc₂ containing a flexible spacer and the mononuclear Sc₁ . Strikingly, all UHMWPEs isolated from C1-Sc₂ under broad temperature range (25-120 °C) and wide ethylene pressures (2-13 bar) feature very low degree of entanglement as proved by rheological test, DSC annealing study and SEM. These dis-UHMWPEs are facilely mediated solid-state-process at 130 °C and their tensile strength and modulus reach up to 149.2 MPa and 1.5 GPa, respectively. DFT simulations reveal that the formation of dis-UHMWPE is attributed to the binuclear synergic effect and the agostic interaction between the active center and the growing chain.

[Retraction: Hydrogen alleviates collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice by inhibiting IL-22 levels]

The retraction has been discussed after the authors asked to retract this article due to incorrect attribution and affillation of the authors.

Evidence for neutrino emission from the nearby active galaxy NGC 1068

A supermassive black hole, obscured by cosmic dust, powers the nearby active galaxy NGC 1068. Neutrinos, which rarely interact with matter, could provide information on the galaxy’s active core. We searched for neutrino emission from astrophysical objects using data recorded with the IceCube neutrino detector between 2011 and 2020. The positions of 110 known gamma-ray sources were individually searched for neutrino detections above atmospheric and cosmic backgrounds. We found that NGC 1068 has an excess of 79 − 20 + 22 neutrinos at tera–electron volt energies, with a global significance of 4.2σ, which we interpret as associated with the active galaxy. The flux of high-energy neutrinos that we measured from NGC 1068 is more than an order of magnitude higher than the upper limit on emissions of tera–electron volt gamma rays from this source.

Long-Distance Transport of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici by Upper Airflow on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau Disrupts the Balance of Agricultural Ecology in Central China

Long-distance dispersal of plant pathogens in the air can establish diseases in other areas and lead to an increased risk of large-scale epidemics. Wheat stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat in China. Hubei is an important overwintering region for Pst in China, and this overwintering region is a determinant of stripe rust severity in eastern China. In 2017, stripe rust disease caused a pandemic in the Hubei region and resulted in great yield losses of wheat. To explain the disease pandemic, a total of 595 single-lesion samples of stripe rust were collected in spring, including 204 in five provinces in 2017 and 391 in four provinces in 2018, and genotyped with 13 simple sequence repeat makers. The samples were classified into 12 subpopulations based on the locations and year of collection. Genetic diversity was determined for the collection and each subpopulation. Differentiation and gene flow were determined between subpopulations. STRUCTURE analyses and discriminant analysis of principal components were conducted, and the results were used to infer the relationships between subpopulations. Our study revealed a new route of Pst transmission from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to the Hubei region. The Pst inoculum of northwestern Hubei came from Gansu in the northwest, whereas the inoculum in southern Hubei came from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau via upper airflow. After the initial inocula infected wheat plants and multiplied in northern and southern Hubei, urediniospores produced in these regions further spread together along the middle reach of Hanshui Valley and made exchanges there. The finding of the new transmission route of Pst is important for improving integrated stripe rust disease management, which should have a profound impact on the balance of agricultural ecology in China.

Search for Unstable Sterile Neutrinos with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory

We present a search for an unstable sterile neutrino by looking for a resonant signal in eight years of atmospheric ν_{μ} data collected from 2011 to 2019 at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Both the (stable) three-neutrino and the 3+1 sterile neutrino models are disfavored relative to the unstable sterile neutrino model, though with p values of 2.8% and 0.81%, respectively, we do not observe evidence for 3+1 neutrinos with neutrino decay. The best-fit parameters for the sterile neutrino with decay model from this study are Δm_{41}^{2}=6.7_{-2.5}^{+3.9}  eV^{2}, sin^{2}2θ_{24}=0.33_{-0.17}^{+0.20}, and g^{2}=2.5π±1.5π, where g is the decay-mediating coupling. The preferred regions of the 3+1+decay model from short-baseline oscillation searches are excluded at 90% C.L.

Combination of 7-O-geranylquercetin and microRNA-451 enhances antitumor effect of Adriamycin by reserving P-gp-mediated drug resistance in breast cancer

Although there are a lot of chemical drugs to treat breast cancer, increasing drug resistance of cancer cells has strongly hindered the effectiveness of chemotherapy. ATP-binding cassette transporters represented by P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance associated protein 1 (MRP1) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) play an important role in drug resistance. This study aims to investigate the effect of 7-O-geranylquercetin (GQ) combining microRNA-451(miR-451) on reversing drug resistance of breast cancer and reveal the mechanism related to P-gp. Real-time RT-PCR and western blot assays showed that miR-326, miR-328, miR-451 and miR-155 inhibitor down-regulated the expression of genes MRP1, BCRP, MDR1 and the corresponding proteins MRP1, BCRP, P-gp, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay indicated that these miRNAs reversed the resistance of MCF-7/ADR cells to Adriamycin (ADR), and miR-451 showed the greatest reversal effect. Combination of GQ and miR-451 enhanced the inhibitory effects of ADR on the proliferation and migration of MCF-7/ADR cells, and attenuated the expression of MDR1 and P-gp in MCF-7/ADR cells. A xenograft tumor model was used to show that GQ and miR-451 amplified the antitumor effect of ADR in nude mice, while western blot and immunohistochemical assays revealed the decreased expression of P-gp in tumor tissues. These results suggest that GQ and miR-451 have synergistic effect on reversing drug resistance through reducing the expression of MDR1 and P-gp in breast cancer MCF-7/ADR cells.

[Joinpoint regression analysis of the incidence trend of syphilis and gonorrhea among adolescents aged 10-19 in Liaoning Province from 2006 to 2020]

Joinpoint regression was used to analyze the trend of syphilis and gonorrhea incidence rate among 10-19 year old adolescents in Liaoning Province from 2006 to 2020. The syphilis and gonorrhea data in Liaoning Province were reported in the infectious disease monitoring system of China's disease prevention and control information system. From 2006 to 2020, a total of 7 721 cases of syphilis in 10-19 year old adolescents were reported in Liaoning Province, with an incidence rate about 0.90/100 000-22.13/100 000. The incidence rate of syphilis in women was higher than that in men. Adolescents infected with stage Ⅰ and stageⅡ syphilis accounted for 72.6%. There were 2 726 patients with gonorrhea, with an incidence rate about 1.29/100 000-10.74/100 000. The incidence rate of gonorrhea in men was higher than that in women. Joinpoint regression model analysis showed that the incidence of syphilis generally took 2012 as the inflection point. From 2006 to 2012, the average annual growth rate of syphilis incidence rate among adolescents was 67.30% (P<0.001). The average annual growth rate of syphilis incidence rate in adolescents from 2012 to 2020 was -0.02% (P=0.994).The overall incidence of gonorrhea incidence rate took 2015 as the inflection point. From 2006 to 2015, the average annual growth rate of juvenile gonorrhea incidence rate was 23.95% (P<0.001). The average annual growth rate of gonorrhea incidence rate in adolescents from 2015 to 2020 was 4.06% (P=0.492). Overall, from 2006 to 2020, the incidence rate of syphilis and gonorrhea among 10-19 year old adolescents in Liaoning Province increased slowly. The primary and secondary prevention strategies were significantly effective in reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

Suppression of Chain Transfer at High Temperature in Catalytic Olefin Polymerization

Living polymerization by suppressing chain transfer is a very useful method for achieving precise molecular weight and structure control. However, the suppression of chain transfer at high temperatures is extremely challenging in any catalytic polymerization. This has been a severe limitation for catalytic olefin polymerization, which is one of the most important chemical reactions. Here, we report the unprecedented living polymerization of ethylene at 130 °C, with a narrow molecular weight distribution range of 1.04 to 1.08. This is a significant increase in the reaction temperature. Tailor-made α-diimine nickel catalysts that exhibit both the steric shielding and fluorine effects play an essential role in this breakthrough. These nickel catalysts are even active at 200 °C, and enable the formation of semi-crystalline, ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene at 150 °C. Mechanistic insights into the key chain transfer reaction are elucidated by density functional theory calculations.

Strong Constraints on Neutrino Nonstandard Interactions from TeV-Scale ν_{μ} Disappearance at IceCube

We report a search for nonstandard neutrino interactions (NSI) using eight years of TeV-scale atmospheric muon neutrino data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. By reconstructing incident energies and zenith angles for atmospheric neutrino events, this analysis presents unified confidence intervals for the NSI parameter ε_{μτ}. The best-fit value is consistent with no NSI at a p value of 25.2%. With a 90% confidence interval of -0.0041≤ε_{μτ}≤0.0031 along the real axis and similar strength in the complex plane, this result is the strongest constraint on any NSI parameter from any oscillation channel to date.

Exhausted and Apoptotic BALF T Cells in Proinflammatory Airway Milieu at Acute Phase of Severe Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia in Children

Severe mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) in children presents with serious clinical complications. Without proper and prompt intervention, it could lead to deadly consequences. Dynamics of the inflammatory airway milieu and activation status of immune cells were believed to be the hallmark of the pathogenesis and progress of the disease. In this study, by employing the T-cell sorting and mRNA microarray, we were able to define the main feature of the chemokine/cytokine expression and the unique characteristics of T cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from severe MPP patients at acute phase. Our study for the first time delineated the molecular changes in isolated BALF T cells in severe MPP children with respect to the cytokine/chemokine expression, cell activation, exhaustion, and apoptosis. By comparing the BALF aqueous expression of cytokines/chemokines with that in sorted T cells, our data give a preliminary clue capable of finishing out the possible cell source of the proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines from the BALF mixture. Meanwhile, our data provide a distinctively pellucid expression profile particularly belonging to the isolated BALF T cells demonstrating that in the inflammatory airway, overactivated T cells were exhausted and on the verge of apoptotic progress.

Search for Relativistic Magnetic Monopoles with Eight Years of IceCube Data

We present an all-sky 90% confidence level upper limit on the cosmic flux of relativistic magnetic monopoles using 2886 days of IceCube data. The analysis was optimized for monopole speeds between 0.750c and 0.995c, without any explicit restriction on the monopole mass. We constrain the flux of relativistic cosmic magnetic monopoles to a level below 2.0×10^{-19}  cm^{-2} s^{-1} sr^{-1} over the majority of the targeted speed range. This result constitutes the most strict upper limit to date for magnetic monopoles with β≳0.8 and up to β∼0.995 and fills the gap between existing limits on the cosmic flux of nonrelativistic and ultrarelativistic magnetic monopoles.

Rare-Earth-Metal Complexes Bearing an Iminodibenzyl-PNP Pincer Ligand: Synthesis and Reactivity toward 3,4-Selective Polymerization of 1,3-Dienes

A PNP-pincer ligand provides a versatile ligation framework, which is highly useful in organometallic chemistry and catalytic chemistry. In this work, by a de novo strategy, a simple and efficient synthetic pathway, has been developed to prepare the new iminodibenzyl-based PNP pincer proligand ^imin-RPNP(Li or H) (R = isopropyl, phenyl). By employing salt metathesis or direct alkyl elimination, we successfully synthesized a series of iminodibenzyl-PNP rare-earth-metal (Ln = Sc, Y, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Lu) complexes and characterized them by NMR and X-ray diffraction analyses. Upon addition of a borate and triisobutylaluminum (TIBA), the rare-earth-metal complexes 2-Y, 2-Dy, 2-Ho, 2-Er, and 2-Tm bearing the ^imin-PhPNP ligand exhibited unexpectedly high 3,4-selectivity (up to 95%) for the polymerization of 1,3-dienes (isoprene and myrcene); in particular, the chosen yttrium complex 2-Y promoted the 1,3-diene polymerization in a living manner. A computational study suggested that the sterically congested configuration around the metal center imposed by the ^imin-RPNP ligand might be the main reason for this unusual selectivity.