Randomized phase III KEYNOTE-045 trial of pembrolizumab versus paclitaxel, docetaxel, or vinflunine in recurrent advanced urothelial cancer: results of >2 years of follow-up

Background

Novel second-line treatments are needed for patients with advanced urothelial cancer (UC). Interim analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-045 study showed a superior overall survival (OS) benefit of pembrolizumab, a programmed death 1 inhibitor, versus chemotherapy in patients with advanced UC that progressed on platinum-based chemotherapy. Here we report the long-term safety and efficacy outcomes of KEYNOTE-045.

Patients and methods

Adult patients with histologically/cytologically confirmed UC whose disease progressed after first-line, platinum-containing chemotherapy were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned 1 : 1 to receive pembrolizumab [200 mg every 3 weeks (Q3W)] or investigator’s choice of paclitaxel (175 mg/m² Q3W), docetaxel (75 mg/m² Q3W), or vinflunine (320 mg/m² Q3W). Primary end points were OS and progression-free survival (PFS) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1 (RECIST v1.1) by blinded independent central radiology review (BICR). A key secondary end point was objective response rate per RECIST v1.1 by BICR.

Results

A total of 542 patients were enrolled (pembrolizumab, n = 270; chemotherapy, n = 272). Median follow-up as of 26 October 2017 was 27.7 months. Median 1- and 2-year OS rates were higher with pembrolizumab (44.2% and 26.9%, respectively) than chemotherapy (29.8% and 14.3%, respectively). PFS rates did not differ between treatment arms; however, 1- and 2-year PFS rates were higher with pembrolizumab. The objective response rate was also higher with pembrolizumab (21.1% versus 11.0%). Median duration of response to pembrolizumab was not reached (range 1.6+ to 30.0+ months) versus chemotherapy (4.4 months; range 1.4+ to 29.9+ months). Pembrolizumab had lower rates of any grade (62.0% versus 90.6%) and grade ≥3 (16.5% versus 50.2%) treatment-related adverse events than chemotherapy.

Conclusions

Long-term results (>2 years’ follow-up) were consistent with those of previously reported analyses, demonstrating continued clinical benefit of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy for efficacy and safety for treatment of locally advanced/metastatic, platinum-refractory UC.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02256436.

S gene expression and the timing of lysis by bacteriophage lambda

The S gene of bacteriophage lambda encodes the holin required for release of the R endolysin at the onset of phage-induced host lysis. S is the promoter-proximal gene on the single lambda late transcript and spans 107 codons. S has a novel translational initiation region with dual start codons, resulting in the production of two protein products, S105 and S107. Although differing only by the Met-1-Lys-2... N-terminal extension present on S107, the two proteins are thought to have opposing functions, with the shorter polypeptide acting as the lysis effector and the longer one acting as an inhibitor. The expression of wild-type and mutant alleles of the holin gene has been assessed quantitatively with respect to the scheduling of lysis. S mRNA accumulates during the late gene expression period to a final level of about 170 molecules per cell and is maintained at that level for at least the last 15 min before lysis. Total S protein synthesis, partitioned at about 2:1 in favor of the S105 protein compared with the other product, S107, accumulates to a final level of approximately 4,600 molecules per cell. The kinetics of accumulation of S is consistent with a constant translational rate of less than one S protein per mRNA per minute. Mutant alleles with alterations in the translational initiation region were studied to determine how the translational initiation region of S achieves the proper partition of initiation events at the two S start codons and how the synthesis of S105 and S107 relates to lysis timing. The results are discussed in terms of a model for the pathway by which the 30S ribosome-fMet-tRNA complex binds to the translational initiation region of S. In addition, analysis of the relationship between lysis timing and the levels of the two S gene products suggests that S107 inhibits S105, the lethal lysis effector, by a stoichiometric titration.

Extraction and validation of a new set of CMS pythia8 tunes from underlying-event measurements

New sets of CMS underlying-event parameters ("tunes") are presented for the pythia8 event generator. These tunes use the NNPDF3.1 parton distribution functions (PDFs) at leading (LO), next-to-leading (NLO), or next-to-next-to-leading (NNLO) orders in perturbative quantum chromodynamics, and the strong coupling evolution at LO or NLO. Measurements of charged-particle multiplicity and transverse momentum densities at various hadron collision energies are fit simultaneously to determine the parameters of the tunes. Comparisons of the predictions of the new tunes are provided for observables sensitive to the event shapes at LEP, global underlying event, soft multiparton interactions, and double-parton scattering contributions. In addition, comparisons are made for observables measured in various specific processes, such as multijet, Drell-Yan, and top quark-antiquark pair production including jet substructure observables. The simulation of the underlying event provided by the new tunes is interfaced to a higher-order matrix-element calculation. For the first time, predictions from pythia8 obtained with tunes based on NLO or NNLO PDFs are shown to reliably describe minimum-bias and underlying-event data with a similar level of agreement to predictions from tunes using LO PDF sets.

Dual translational initiation sites control function of the lambda S gene

Lysis gene S of phage lambda has a 107 codon reading frame beginning with the codons Met1-Lys2-Met3. Genetic data have suggested that translational initiation occurs at both Met1 and Met3, generating two polypeptides, S107 and S105 respectively. We have proposed a model in which the proper scheduling of lysis depends on the partition of translational initiations between the two start codons. Here, using in vitro methods, we show that two stem-loop structures, one immediately upstream of the reading frame and a second approximately 10 codons within the gene, control the partitioning event. Utilizing primer-extension inhibition or 'toeprinting', we show that the two S start codons are served by two adjacent Shine-Dalgarno sequences. Moreover, the timing of lysis supported by the wild-type and a number of mutant alleles in vivo can be correlated with the ratio of ternary complex formation over Met1 and Met3 in vitro. Thus the regulation of the S gene is unique in that the products of two adjacent in-frame initiation events have opposing function.

Biodegradability and biodegradation rate of poly(caprolactone)-starch blend and poly(butylene succinate) biodegradable polymer under aerobic and anaerobic environment

The biodegradability and the biodegradation rate of two kinds biodegradable polymers; poly(caprolactone) (PCL)-starch blend and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), were investigated under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. PCL-starch blend was easily degraded, with 88% biodegradability in 44 days under aerobic conditions, and showed a biodegradation rate of 0.07 day(-1), whereas the biodegradability of PBS was only 31% in 80 days under the same conditions, with a biodegradation rate of 0.01 day(-1). Anaerobic bacteria degraded well PCL-starch blend (i.e., 83% biodegradability for 139 days); however, its biodegradation rate was relatively slow (6.1 mL CH(4)/g-VS day) compared to that of cellulose (13.5 mL CH(4)/g-VS day), which was used as a reference material. The PBS was barely degraded under anaerobic conditions, with only 2% biodegradability in 100 days. These results were consistent with the visual changes and FE-SEM images of the two biodegradable polymers after the landfill burial test, showing that only PCL-starch blend had various sized pinholes on the surface due to attack by microorganisms. This result may be use in deciding suitable final disposal approaches of different types of biodegradable polymers in the future.

Severe growth defect in a Schizosaccharomyces pombe mutant defective in intron lariat degradation

The cDNAs and genes encoding the intron lariat-debranching enzyme were isolated from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe based on their homology with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene. The cDNAs were shown to be functional in an interspecific complementation experiment; they can complement an S. cerevisiae dbr1 null mutant. About 2.5% of budding yeast S. cerevisiae genes have introns, and the accumulation of excised introns in a dbr1 null mutant has little effect on cell growth. In contrast, many S. pombe genes contain introns, and often multiple introns per gene, so that S. pombe is estimated to contain approximately 40 times as many introns as S. cerevisiae. The S. pombe dbr1 gene was disrupted and shown to be nonessential. Like the S. cerevisiae mutant, the S. pombe null mutant accumulated introns to high levels, indicating that intron lariat debranching represents a rate-limiting step in intron degradation in both species. Unlike the S. cerevisiae mutant, the S. pombe dbr1::leu1+ mutant had a severe growth defect and exhibited an aberrant elongated cell shape in addition to an intron accumulation phenotype. The growth defect of the S. pombe dbr1::leu1+ strain suggests that debranching activity is critical for efficient intron RNA degradation and that blocking this pathway interferes with cell growth.

Enhanced degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by biodegradation combined with a modified Fenton reaction

A study has been conducted to enhance degradation of a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by combining biodegradation with hydrogen peroxide oxidation in a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) soil. An active bacterial consortium enriched from the MGP surface soil (0-2 m) biodegraded more than 90% of PAHs including 2-, 3-, and 4-ring hydrocarbons in a model soil. The consortium was also able to transform about 50% of 4- and 5-ring hydrocarbons in the MGP soil. As a chemical oxidant, Fenton's reagent (H2O2 + Fe2+) was very efficient in the destruction of a mixture of PAHs (i.e., naphthalene (NAP), fluorene (FLU), phenanthrene (PHE), anthracene (ANT), pyrene (PYR), chrysene (CHR), and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)) in the model soil; noticeably, 84.5% and 96.7% of initial PYR and BaP were degraded, respectively. In the MGP soil, the same treatment destroyed more than 80% of 2- and 3-ring hydrocarbons and 20-40% of 4- and 5-ring compounds. However, the low pH requirement (pH 2-3) for optimum Fenton reaction made the process incompatible with biological treatment and posed potential hazards to the soil ecosystem where the reagent was used. In order to overcome such limitation, a modified Fenton-type reaction was performed at near neutral pH by using ferric ions and chelating agents such as catechol and gallic acid. By the combined treatment of the modified Fenton reaction and biodegradation, more than 98% of 2- or 3-ring hydrocarbons and between 70% and 85% of 4- or 5-ring compounds were degraded in the MGP soil, while maintaining its pH about 6-6.5.

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Dharmaratna WGD, Liyanage K, Perera N, Wickramage N, Aarrestad TK, Abbaneo D, Alimena J, Auffray E, Auzinger G, Baechler J, Baillon P, Ball AH, Barney D, Bendavid J, Beni N, Bianco M, Bocci A, Brondolin E, Camporesi T, Garrido MC, Cerminara G, Chhibra SS, Cristella L, d’Enterria D, Dabrowski A, Daci N, David A, De Roeck A, Deile M, Maria RD, Dobson M, Dünser M, Dupont N, Elliott-Peisert A, Emriskova N, Fallavollita F, Fasanella D, Fiorendi S, Florent A, Franzoni G, Fulcher J, Funk W, Giani S, Gigi D, Gill K, Glege F, Gouskos L, Haranko M, Hegeman J, Iiyama Y, Innocente V, James T, Janot P, Kaspar J, Kieseler J, Komm M, Kratochwil N, Lange C, Laurila S, Lecoq P, Long K, Lourenço C, Malgeri L, Mallios S, Mannelli M, Meijers F, Mersi S, Meschi E, Moortgat F, Mulders M, Orfanelli S, Orsini L, Pantaleo F, Pape L, Perez E, Peruzzi M, Petrilli A, Petrucciani G, Pfeiffer A, Pierini M, Qu H, Quast T, Rabady D, Racz A, Rieger M, Rovere M, Sakulin H, Salfeld-Nebgen J, Scarfi S, Schäfer C, Schwick C, Selvaggi M, Sharma A, Silva P, Snoeys W, Sphicas P, Summers S, Tavolaro VR, Treille D, Tsirou A, Tsrunchev P, Onsem GPV, Verzetti M, Wanczyk J, Wozniak KA, Zeuner WD, Caminada L, Ebrahimi A, Erdmann W, Horisberger R, Ingram Q, Kaestli HC, Kotlinski D, Langenegger U, Missiroli M, Rohe T, Androsov K, Backhaus M, Berger P, Calandri A, Chernyavskaya N, De Cosa A, Dissertori G, Dittmar M, Donegà M, Dorfer C, Eble F, Gadek T, Espinosa TAG, Grab C, Hits D, Lustermann W, Lyon AM, Manzoni RA, Perez CM, Meinhard MT, Micheli F, Nessi-Tedaldi F, Niedziela J, Pauss F, Perovic V, Perrin G, Pigazzini S, Ratti MG, Reichmann M, Reissel C, Reitenspiess T, Ristic B, Ruini D, Becerra DAS, Schönenberger M, Stampf V, Steggemann J, Wallny R, Zhu DH, Amsler C, Botta C, Brzhechko D, Canelli MF, De Wit A, Burgo RD, Heikkilä JK, Huwiler M, Jofrehei A, Kilminster B, Leontsinis S, Macchiolo A, Meiring P, Mikuni VM, Molinatti U, Neutelings I, Rauco G, Reimers A, Robmann P, Cruz SS, Schweiger K, Takahashi Y, Adloff C, Kuo CM, Lin W, Roy A, Sarkar T, Yu SS, Ceard L, Chang P, Chao Y, Chen KF, Chen PH, Hou WS, Li YY, Lu RS, Paganis E, Psallidas A, Steen A, Yazgan E, Yu PR, Asavapibhop B, Asawatangtrakuldee C, Srimanobhas N, Boran F, Damarseckin S, Demiroglu ZS, Dolek F, Dumanoglu I, Eskut E, Gokbulut G, Guler Y, Guler EG, Hos I, Isik C, Kangal EE, Kara O, Topaksu AK, Kiminsu U, Onengut G, Ozdemir K, Polatoz A, Simsek AE, Tali B, Tok UG, Turkcapar S, Zorbakir IS, Zorbilmez C, Isildak B, Karapinar G, Ocalan K, Yalvac M, Akgun B, Atakisi IO, Cekmecelioglu YC, Gülmez E, Kaya M, Kaya O, Özçelik Ö, Tekten S, Yetkin EA, Cakir A, Cankocak K, Komurcu Y, Sen S, Sen FA, Cerci S, Kaynak B, Ozkorucuklu S, Cerci DS, Grynyov B, Levchuk L, Bhal E, Bologna S, Brooke JJ, Bundock A, Clement E, Cussans D, Flacher H, Goldstein J, Heath GP, Heath HF, Kreczko L, Krikler B, Paramesvaran S, Sakuma T, Nasr-Storey SSE, Smith VJ, Stylianou N, Taylor J, Titterton A, Bell KW, Belyaev A, Brew C, Brown RM, Cockerill DJA, Ellis KV, Harder K, Harper S, Linacre J, Manolopoulos K, Newbold DM, Olaiya E, Petyt D, Reis T, Schuh T, Shepherd-Themistocleous CH, Thea A, Tomalin IR, Williams T, Bainbridge R, Bloch P, Bonomally S, Borg J, Breeze S, Buchmuller O, Cepaitis V, Chahal GS, Colling D, Dauncey P, Davies G, Negra MD, Fayer S, Fedi G, Hall G, Hassanshahi MH, Iles G, Langford J, Lyons L, Magnan AM, Malik S, Martelli A, Nash J, Palladino V, Pesaresi M, Raymond DM, Richards A, Rose A, Scott E, Seez C, Shtipliyski A, Tapper A, Uchida K, Virdee T, Wardle N, Webb SN, Winterbottom D, Zecchinelli AG, Cole JE, Khan A, Kyberd P, Mackay CK, Reid ID, Teodorescu L, Zahid S, Abdullin S, Brinkerhoff A, Caraway B, Dittmann J, Hatakeyama K, Kanuganti AR, McMaster B, Pastika N, Sawant S, Smith C, Sutantawibul C, Wilson J, Bartek R, Dominguez A, Uniyal R, Hernandez AMV, Buccilli A, Charaf O, Cooper SI, Croce DD, Gleyzer SV, Henderson C, Perez CU, Rumerio P, West C, Akpinar A, Albert A, Arcaro D, Cosby C, Demiragli Z, Gastler D, Rohlf J, Salyer K, Sperka D, Spitzbart D, Suarez I, Tsatsos A, Yuan S, Zou D, Benelli G, Burkle B, Coubez X, Cutts D, Duh YT, Hadley M, Heintz U, Hogan JM, Laird E, Landsberg G, Lau KT, Lee J, Luo J, Narain M, Sagir S, Usai E, Wong WY, Yan X, Yu D, Zhang W, Brainerd C, Breedon R, De La Barca Sanchez MC, Chertok M, Conway J, Cox PT, Erbacher R, Jensen F, Kukral O, Lander R, Mulhearn M, Pellett D, Regnery B, Taylor D, Tripathi M, Yao Y, Zhang F, Bachtis M, Cousins R, Dasgupta A, Datta A, Hamilton D, Hauser J, Ignatenko M, Iqbal MA, Lam T, Mccoll N, Nash WA, Regnard S, Saltzberg D, Schnaible C, Stone B, Valuev V, Burt K, Chen Y, Clare R, Gary JW, Hanson G, Karapostoli G, Long OR, Manganelli N, Negrete MO, Si W, Wimpenny S, Zhang Y, Branson JG, Chang P, Cittolin S, Cooperstein S, Deelen N, Duarte J, Gerosa R, Giannini L, Gilbert D, Guiang J, Kansal R, Krutelyov V, Lee R, Letts J, Masciovecchio M, May S, Padhi S, Pieri M, Narayanan BVS, Sharma V, Tadel M, Vartak A, Würthwein F, Xiang Y, Yagil A, Amin N, Campagnari C, Citron M, Dorsett A, Dutta V, Incandela J, Kilpatrick M, Marsh B, Mei H, Ovcharova A, Quinnan M, Richman J, Sarica U, Stuart D, Wang S, Bornheim A, Cerri O, Dutta I, Lawhorn JM, Lu N, Mao J, Newman HB, Ngadiuba J, Nguyen TQ, Spiropulu M, Vlimant JR, Wang C, Xie S, Zhang Z, Zhu RY, Alison J, Andrews MB, Ferguson T, Mudholkar T, Paulini M, Vorobiev I, Cumalat JP, Ford WT, MacDonald E, Patel R, Perloff A, Stenson K, Ulmer KA, Wagner SR, Alexander J, Cheng Y, Chu J, Cranshaw DJ, Mcdermott K, Monroy J, Patterson JR, Quach D, Reichert J, Ryd A, Sun W, Tan SM, Tao Z, Thom J, Wittich P, Zientek M, Albrow M, Alyari M, Apollinari G, Apresyan A, Apyan A, Banerjee S, Bauerdick LAT, Beretvas A, Berry D, Berryhill J, Bhat PC, Burkett K, Butler JN, Canepa A, Cerati GB, Cheung HWK, Chlebana F, Cremonesi M, Petrillo KFD, Elvira VD, Freeman J, Gecse Z, Gray L, Green D, Grünendahl S, Gutsche O, Harris RM, Heller R, Herwig TC, Hirschauer J, Jayatilaka B, Jindariani S, Johnson M, Joshi U, Klabbers P, Klijnsma T, Klima B, Kortelainen MJ, Kwok KHM, Lammel S, Lincoln D, Lipton R, Liu T, Lykken J, Madrid C, Maeshima K, Mantilla C, Mason D, McBride P, Merkel P, Mrenna S, Nahn S, O’Dell V, Papadimitriou V, Pedro K, Pena C, Prokofyev O, Ravera F, Hall AR, Ristori L, Schneider B, Sexton-Kennedy E, Smith N, Soha A, Spiegel L, Stoynev S, Strait J, Taylor L, Tkaczyk S, Tran NV, Uplegger L, Vaandering EW, Weber HA, Woodard A, Acosta D, Avery P, Bourilkov D, Cadamuro L, Cherepanov V, Errico F, Field RD, Guerrero D, Joshi BM, Kim M, Konigsberg J, Korytov A, Lo KH, Matchev K, Menendez N, Mitselmakher G, Rosenzweig D, Shi K, Sturdy J, Wang J, Yigitbasi E, Zuo X, Adams T, Askew A, Diaz D, Habibullah R, Hagopian S, Hagopian V, Johnson KF, Khurana R, Kolberg T, Martinez G, Prosper H, Schiber C, Yohay R, Zhang J, Baarmand MM, Butalla S, Elkafrawy T, Hohlmann M, Verma RK, Noonan D, Rahmani M, Saunders M, Yumiceva F, Adams MR, Apanasevich L, Gonzalez HB, Cavanaugh R, Chen X, Dittmer S, Evdokimov O, Gerber CE, Hangal DA, Hofman DJ, Mills C, Oh G, Roy T, Tonjes MB, Varelas N, Viinikainen J, Wang X, Wu Z, Ye Z, Alhusseini M, Dilsiz K, Durgut S, Gandrajula RP, Haytmyradov M, Khristenko V, Köseyan OK, Merlo JP, Mestvirishvili A, Moeller A, Nachtman J, Ogul H, Onel Y, Ozok F, Penzo A, Snyder C, Tiras E, Wetzel J, Amram O, Blumenfeld B, Corcodilos L, Eminizer M, Gritsan AV, Kyriacou S, Maksimovic P, Roskes J, Swartz M, Vámi T, Barrera CB, Baringer P, Bean A, Bylinkin A, Isidori T, Khalil S, King J, Krintiras G, Kropivnitskaya A, Lindsey C, Minafra N, Murray M, Rogan C, Royon C, Sanders S, Schmitz E, Takaki JDT, Wang Q, Williams J, Wilson G, Duric S, Ivanov A, Kaadze K, Kim D, Maravin Y, Mitchell T, Modak A, Nam K, Rebassoo F, Wright D, Adams E, Baden A, Baron O, Belloni A, Eno SC, Feng Y, Hadley NJ, Jabeen S, Kellogg RG, Koeth T, Mignerey AC, Nabili S, Seidel M, Skuja A, Tonwar SC, Wang L, Wong K, Abercrombie D, Andreassi G, Bi R, Brandt S, Busza W, Cali IA, Chen Y, D’Alfonso M, Ceballos GG, Goncharov M, Harris P, Hu M, Klute M, Kovalskyi D, Krupa J, Lee YJ, Maier B, Marini AC, Mironov C, Paus C, Rankin D, Roland C, Roland G, Shi Z, Stephans GSF, Tatar K, Wang J, Wang Z, Wyslouch B, Chatterjee RM, Evans A, Hansen P, Hiltbrand J, Jain S, Krohn M, Kubota Y, Lesko Z, Mans J, Revering M, Rusack R, Saradhy R, Schroeder N, Strobbe N, Wadud MA, Acosta JG, Oliveros S, Bloom K, Bryson M, Chauhan S, Claes DR, Fangmeier C, Finco L, Golf F, Fernández JRG, Joo C, Kravchenko I, Siado JE, Snow GR, Tabb W, Yan F, Agarwal G, Bandyopadhyay H, Hay L, Iashvili I, Kharchilava A, McLean C, Nguyen D, Pekkanen J, Rappoccio S, Williams A, Alverson G, Barberis E, Freer C, Haddad Y, Hortiangtham A, Li J, Madigan G, Marzocchi B, Morse DM, Nguyen V, Orimoto T, Parker A, Skinnari L, Tishelman-Charny A, Wamorkar T, Wang B, Wisecarver A, Wood D, Bhattacharya S, Bueghly J, Chen Z, Gilbert A, Gunter T, Hahn KA, Odell N, Schmitt MH, Sung K, Velasco M, Band R, Bucci R, Dev N, Goldouzian R, Hildreth M, Anampa KH, Jessop C, Lannon K, Loukas N, Marinelli N, Mcalister I, Meng F, Mohrman K, Musienko Y, Ruchti R, Siddireddy P, Wayne M, Wightman A, Wolf M, Zarucki M, Zygala L, Bylsma B, Cardwell B, Durkin LS, Francis B, Hill C, Lefeld A, Winer BL, Yates BR, Addesa FM, Bonham B, Das P, Dezoort G, Elmer P, Frankenthal A, Greenberg B, Haubrich N, Higginbotham S, Kalogeropoulos A, Kopp G, Kwan S, Lange D, Lucchini MT, Marlow D, Mei K, Ojalvo I, Olsen J, Palmer C, Stickland D, Tully C, Xie Z, Malik S, Norberg S, Bakshi AS, Barnes VE, Chawla R, Das S, Gutay L, Jones M, Jung AW, Karmarkar S, Liu M, Negro G, Neumeister N, Paspalaki G, Peng CC, Piperov S, Purohit A, Schulte JF, Stojanovic M, Thieman J, Wang F, Xiao R, Xie W, Dolen J, Parashar N, Baty A, Dildick S, Ecklund KM, Freed S, Geurts FJM, Kumar A, Li W, Padley BP, Redjimi R, Roberts J, Shi W, Leiton AGS, Bodek A, de Barbaro P, Demina R, Dulemba JL, Fallon C, Ferbel T, Galanti M, Garcia-Bellido A, Hindrichs O, Khukhunaishvili A, Ranken E, Taus R, Chiarito B, Chou JP, Gandrakota A, Gershtein Y, Halkiadakis E, Hart A, Heindl M, Hughes E, Kaplan S, Karacheban O, Laflotte I, Lath A, Montalvo R, Nash K, Osherson M, Salur S, Schnetzer S, Somalwar S, Stone R, Thayil SA, Thomas S, Wang H, Acharya H, Delannoy AG, Spanier S, Bouhali O, Dalchenko M, Delgado A, Eusebi R, Gilmore J, Huang T, Kamon T, Kim H, Luo S, Malhotra S, Mueller R, Overton D, Rathjens D, Safonov A, Akchurin N, Damgov J, Hegde V, Kunori S, Lamichhane K, Lee SW, Mengke T, Muthumuni S, Peltola T, Undleeb S, Volobouev I, Wang Z, Whitbeck A, Appelt E, Greene S, Gurrola A, Johns W, Maguire C, Melo A, Ni H, Padeken K, Romeo F, Sheldon P, Tuo S, Velkovska J, Arenton MW, Cox B, Cummings G, Hakala J, Hirosky R, Joyce M, Ledovskoy A, Li A, Neu C, Tannenwald B, Wolfe E, Karchin PE, Poudyal N, Thapa P, Black K, Bose T, Buchanan J, Caillol C, Dasu S, De Bruyn I, Everaerts P, Fienga F, Galloni C, He H, Herndon M, Hervé A, Hussain U, Lanaro A, Loeliger A, Loveless R, Sreekala JM, Mallampalli A, Mohammadi A, Pinna D, Savin A, Shang V, Sharma V, Smith WH, Teague D, Trembath-Reichert S, Vetens W. Precision luminosity measurement in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016 at CMS

The measurement of the luminosity recorded by the CMS detector installed at LHC interaction point 5, using proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016, is reported. The absolute luminosity scale is measured for individual bunch crossings using beam-separation scans (the van der Meer method), with a relative precision of 1.3 and 1.0% in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The dominant sources of uncertainty are related to residual differences between the measured beam positions and the ones provided by the operational settings of the LHC magnets, the factorizability of the proton bunch spatial density functions in the coordinates transverse to the beam direction, and the modeling of the effect of electromagnetic interactions among protons in the colliding bunches. When applying the van der Meer calibration to the entire run periods, the integrated luminosities when CMS was fully operational are 2.27 and 36.3 fb - 1 in 2015 and 2016, with a relative precision of 1.6 and 1.2%, respectively. These are among the most precise luminosity measurements at bunched-beam hadron colliders.

Application of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria for enhancing bioavailability and phytoextraction of cadmium (Cd) from polluted soil

In this study, phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB), Bacillus megaterium, were used to enhance Cd bioavailability and phytoextractability of Cd from contaminated soils. This strain showed a potential for directly solubilizing phosphorous from soils more than 10 folds greater than the control without inoculation. The results of pot experiments revealed that inoculation with B. megaterium significantly increased the extent of Cd accumulation in Brassica juncea and Abutilon theophrasti by two folds relative to the uninoculated control. The maximum Cd concentrations due to inoculation were 1.6 and 1.8 mg Cd g(-1) plant for B. juncea and A. theophrasti after 10 wk, respectively. The total biomass of A. theophrasti was not significantly promoted by the inoculation treatment, yet the total biomass of B. juncea increased from 0.087 to 0.448 g. It is also worth to mention that B. juncea predominantly accumulates Cd in its stems (39%) whereas A. theophrasti accumulates it in its leaves (68%) after 10 wk. The change of the Cd speciation indicated that inoculation of B. megaterium as PSB increased the bioavailabilty of Cd and consequently enhanced its uptake by plants. The present study may provide a new insight for improving phytoremediation using PSB in the Cd-contaminated soils.

Effect of reactive media composition and co-contaminants on sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification

As a part of a study developing a biological reactive barrier system to treat nitrate-contaminated groundwater, the effects of reactive media composition and co-contaminants on sulfur-oxidizing autotrophic denitrification were investigated. The size of sulfur granules affected the denitrification rates; kinetic constants of 2.883, 2.949, and 0.677 mg-N(1/2)/L(1/2)/day were obtained when the granule sizes were below 2 mm, between 2 and 5 mm, and over 5 mm, respectively. When the volume ratios of sulfur to limestone were 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1, kinetic constants of 5.490, 3.903, 4.072, and 2.984 mg-N(1/2)/L(1/2)/day were obtained, respectively. The presence of TCE up to 20 mg/L didn't significantly affect nitrate removal efficiency. At the TCE concentration of 80 mg/L, however, nitrate removal was markedly inhibited. Also, Zn and Cu inhibited the denitrification activity at more than 0.5 mg/L of concentration whereas Cr (VI) did not significantly affect the nitrate removal efficiency at all levels tested.

Combined ozonation and biodegradation for remediation of mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil

A study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of a combined treatment (i.e., ozonation and biodegradation) to overcome the inherent bacterial bioavailability limitation, and hence bioremediation limitation, of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil. Ozonation was very efficient in the removal of naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and anthracene, but not for pyrene, chrysene, and benzo(a)pyrene from soil freshly spiked with the hydrocarbons. A similar result was obtained from coal tar-contaminated soil. Elimination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons increased appreciably in sand containing 0.03% organic carbon, indicating the adverse effect of organic carbon on the efficiency of ozone treatment. In spiked and coal tar-contaminated soils, ozonation followed by biodegradation significantly increased the degradation of various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons including chrysene and benzo(a)pyrene which were not degraded by the test bacterial consortium alone. In particular, the effect of the combined treatment was more pronounced in coal tar-contaminated soil than in sterile soil spiked with hydrocarbons, probably due to the augmented biological activity of the introduced consortium. The results suggest that a combined treatment including ozonation and biodegradation may be a promising bioremediation technology in soil contaminated with mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as former manufactured gas plant sites.

Observation of tt[over ¯]H Production

The observation of Higgs boson production in association with a top quark-antiquark pair is reported, based on a combined analysis of proton-proton collision data at center-of-mass energies of sqrt[s]=7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 5.1, 19.7, and 35.9  fb^{-1}, respectively. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The results of statistically independent searches for Higgs bosons produced in conjunction with a top quark-antiquark pair and decaying to pairs of W bosons, Z bosons, photons, τ leptons, or bottom quark jets are combined to maximize sensitivity. An excess of events is observed, with a significance of 5.2 standard deviations, over the expectation from the background-only hypothesis. The corresponding expected significance from the standard model for a Higgs boson mass of 125.09 GeV is 4.2 standard deviations. The combined best fit signal strength normalized to the standard model prediction is 1.26_{-0.26}^{+0.31}.

Survival of introduced phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and their impact on microbial community structure during the phytoextraction of Cd-contaminated soil

This study was conducted to investigate whether or not phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) as a kind of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria enhance the uptake of Cd by plants. In addition, the effect of PSB augmentation during phytoextraction on the microbial community of indigenous soil bacteria was also studied. In the initial Cd-contaminated soil, the major phyla were Proteobacteria (35%), Actinobacteria (38%) and Firmicutes (8%). While Proteobacteria were dominant at the second and sixth week (41 and 54%, respectively) in inoculated soil, Firmicutes (mainly belonging to the Bacilli class-61%), dramatically increased in the eight-week soil. For the uninoculated soil, the proportion of α-Proteobacteria increased after eight weeks (32%). Interestingly, Actinobacteria class, which was originally present in the soil (37%), seemed to disappear during phytoremediation, irrespective of whether PSB was inoculated or not. Cluster analysis and Principal Component Analysis revealed that the microbial community of eight-week inoculated soil was completely separated from the other soil samples, due to the dramatic increase of Bacillus aryabhattai. These findings revealed that it took at least eight weeks for the inoculated Bacillus sp. to functionally adapt to the introduced soil, against competition with indigenous microorganisms in soil. An ecological understanding of interaction among augmented bacteria, plant and indigenous soil bacteria is needed, for proper management of phytoextraction.

Human RNA lariat debranching enzyme cDNA complements the phenotypes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae dbr1 and Schizosaccharomyces pombe dbr1 mutants

The cDNA encoding the human RNA lariat debranching enzyme (hDBR1) was identified and cloned by searching the Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) database and screening a HeLa cDNA library, based on predicted amino acid sequence homologies with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Caenorhabditis elegans debranching enzymes. The hDBR1 cDNA expressed in Escherichia coli showed debranching activity in vitro and was also shown to be functional in an interspecies specific complementation experiment. hDBR1 cDNA in a S. cerevisiae expression vector complemented the intron accumulation phenotype of a S. cerevisiae dbr1 null mutant. Integration of the cDNA for hDBR1 into the ura4 locus of S. pombe also complemented both the intron accumulation and slow growth phenotypes of a S. pombe dbr1 null mutant strain. Comparison of the amino acid sequence of hDBR1 with the other DBR protein sequences showed several conserved regions, with 40, 44 and 43% identity to the S. cerevisiae, S. pombe and C. elegans debranching enzymes, respectively.

Extended biotic ligand model for prediction of mixture toxicity of Cd and Pb using single metal toxicity data

The combined toxic effects of Cd and Pb in the presence of different concentrations of Ca(2+) were predicted using the biotic ligand model (BLM), with the parameters derived from the Cd-only and Pb-only toxicity data. The BLM-based toxic unit (TU) approach and the proposed BLM-based f(mix) approach were used for prediction. The predicted mixture toxic effects using the BLM-based f(mix) approach were closer to the observed mixture effects (root mean square error [RMSE] = 9.7 at 25 mM Ca(2+) ) than that using the BLM-based TU approach (RMSE = 25.6 at 25 mM Ca(2+) ). This can be attributed to the fact that the BLM-based TU approach only considers the competition between Ca(2+) and Cd or Pb, whereas the BLM-based f(mix) approach considers both the competition between Cd and Pb and the competition between Ca(2+) and Cd or Pb for biotic ligand sites. In addition, the parameters derived from the Cd-only and Pb-only solutions in the presence of the background Ca(2+) concentration (0.025 mM) could be used to predict the mixture toxic effects at higher Ca(2+) concentrations. The BLM-based f(mix) approach proposed in the current study suggests a new way of predicting the Cd-Pb mixture toxicity from the single metal toxicity data by adopting the f(mix) values.

A relationship perspective on IT outsourcing

A longitudinal study at four companies provides valuable insights about the evolution of IT outsourcing relationships.

L1 Peptide-Conjugated Fibrin Hydrogels Promote Salivary Gland Regeneration

Hyposalivation contributes to dental caries, periodontitis, and microbial infections. Additionally, it impairs activities of daily living (e.g., speaking, chewing, and swallowing). Treatments for hyposalivation are currently limited to medications (e.g., the muscarinic receptor agonists pilocarpine and cevimeline) that induce saliva secretion from residual acinar cells and the use of saliva substitutes. However, given that these therapies provide only temporary relief, the development of alternative treatments to restore gland function is essential. Previous studies demonstrated that laminin 1 (L1) is critical for intact salivary cell cluster formation and organization. However, the full L1 sequence is not suitable for clinical applications, as each protein domain may contribute to unwanted effects, such as degradation, tumorigenesis, and immune responses that, when compounded, outweigh the potential benefits provided by their sum. Although the L1 peptides YIGSR and A99 linked to fibrin hydrogels (FHs) promote intact salivary epithelial formation in vitro, little is known about their role during salivary gland regeneration in vivo. Therefore, the goal of this study was to demonstrate whether L1 peptides conjugated to FHs promote tissue regeneration in a wound-healing model of mouse submandibular glands (mSMGs). Our results suggest that YIGSR-A99 peptides, chemically conjugated to FHs and applied to wounded mSMGs in vivo, formed new organized salivary tissue. In contrast, wounded mSMGs treated with FHs alone or in the absence of a scaffold showed disorganized collagen formation and poor tissue healing. Together these studies indicate that damaged salivary gland tissue can grow and differentiate when treated with FHs containing L1 peptides.

Relationship between early postoperative C-reactive protein elevation and long-term postoperative major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral events in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of vascular occlusive diseases, such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Additionally, these conditions are predicted by C-reactive protein (CRP), a general inflammation marker. We hypothesized that the inflammation induced by surgery itself augments vascular occlusive disease. We retrospectively evaluated the relationship between postoperative CRP elevation and postoperative major adverse cardiovascular and cerebral events (MACCE) in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (OPCAB).

METHODS

The electronic medical records of 1046 patients who underwent OPCAB were reviewed retrospectively. The relationship between postoperative serum CRP and long-term postoperative MACCE (median follow-up 28 months) was investigated.

RESULTS

Patients were divided into quartiles according to maximum postoperative CRP levels (<18, 18-22, 22-27, ≥27 mg dl(-1)). The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were 2.15, 2.45, and 2.81, respectively (P=0.004), compared with the lowest quartile (<18 mg dl(-1)). In the multivariate analysis, the postoperative CRP quartile (HR 2.81; P=0.004), postoperative non-use of statins (HR 1.86; P=0.003), and postoperative maximum troponin I (HR 1.02; P<0.001) independently predicted postoperative MACCE, while preoperative CRP did not (P=0.203). Several parameters were correlated with postoperative maximum CRP level: body temperature (P=0.001) and heart rate (P<0.001) at the end of surgery; intraoperative last lactate (P<0.001) and base excess (P<0.001); and red blood cell transfusion (P=0.019).

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative CRP elevation was associated with long-term postoperative MACCE in OPCAB patients. This was mitigated by postoperative statin medication. Furthermore, postoperative CRP elevation was associated with intraoperative parameters reflecting hypoperfusion and inflammation.

Peripheral blood extrathymic CD4(+)CD8(+) T cells with high cytotoxic activity are from the same lineage as CD4(+)CD8(-) T cells in cynomolgus monkeys

We have previously reported that CD4/CD8 double-positive (DP) T cells with the resting memory phenotype are present in the periphery of healthy cynomolgus monkeys. In the present study, we performed functional studies on the T cells. The expression of CD4 and CD8 on DP, CD4 single-positive (SP) or CD8 SP T cells was stable in cultures with either mitogen or anti-CD3 antibody stimulation. In spite of lacking CD28 expression, DP T cells showed similar proliferative ability and apoptosis sensitivity to CD4 SP and CD8 SP T cells. DP T cells showed both helper and cytotoxic activities. Although the helper activity of DP T cells was lower than that of CD4 SP T cells, cytotoxic activity was comparable to that of CD8 SP T cells. Fresh DP T cells killed target cells mainly by the perforin-granzyme pathway. In addition, fresh DP T cells expressed a high level of mRNA for IFN-gamma and produced a high level of IFN-gamma when they were activated by anti-CD3 antibody ligation. On the other hand, several expanded DP T cell clones shared TCR V(beta) with expanded CD4 SP T cell clones, strongly suggesting that those two corresponding clones with DP and CD4 SP phenotypes might be derived from the same ancestor T cell. These results showed that the DP T cells are a novel T cell subset with functions overlapping with those of CD4 SP and CD8 SP T cells, and that they might play protective and regulatory roles in secondary immune response in cynomolgus monkeys.

Plus-strand strong-stop DNA synthesis in retrotransposon Ty1

Reverse transcription in the yeast retrotransposon Ty1 follows the general "rules" of retroviral replication overall. However, some details of the retroviral and Ty1 reverse transcription processes are different. We have identified and determined the structure of plus-strand strong-stop DNA and examined the effect of polypurine tract deletion mutations on its synthesis. Furthermore, we have defined the stop signal for plus-strand strong-stop DNA synthesis as an unusual 2'-O-ribosylated nucleotide in the primer tRNA. Full-length plus-strand strong-stop DNA, following strand transfer, would have a terminal 2-base mismatch with minus-strand DNA. These findings indicate that the mechanism of plus-strand strong-stop DNA transfer in Ty1 differs from that of the retroviral transfer and suggest that full-length plus-strand strong-stop DNA is not a direct intermediate in Ty1 retrotransposition.

Changes in soil toxicity by phosphate-aided soil washing: effect of soil characteristics, chemical forms of arsenic, and cations in washing solutions

This study was set to investigate the changes in the toxicity of arsenic (As)-contaminated soils after washing with phosphate solutions. The soil samples collected from two locations (A: rice paddy and B: forest land) of a former smelter site were contaminated with a similar level of As. Soil washing (0.5 M phosphate solution for 2 h) removed 24.5% As, on average, in soil from both locations. Regardless of soil washing, Location A soil toxicities, determined using Microtox, were greater than that of Location B and this could be largely attributed to different soil particle size distribution. With soils from both locations, the changes in As chemical forms resulted in either similar or greater toxicities after washing. This emphasizes the importance of considering ecotoxicological aspects, which are likely to differ depending on soil particle size distribution and changes in As chemical forms, in addition to the total concentration based remedial goals, in producing ecotoxicologically-sound soils for reuse. In addition, calcium phosphate used as the washing solution seemed to contribute more on the toxic effects of the washed soils than potassium phosphate and ammonium phosphate. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to use potassium or ammonium phosphate than calcium phosphate for phosphate-aided soil washing of the As-contaminated soils.