Integration of human papillomavirus type 16 into the human genome correlates with a selective growth advantage of cells

Integration of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) DNA into a host chromosome has been hypothesized to result in altered expression of two viral transforming genes, E6 and E7, in cervical cancers. In order to investigate the role that changes in viral genomic state and gene expression play in cervical carcinogenesis, we have derived clonal populations of human cervical epithelial cells which harbor multiple copies of either extrachromosomal or integrated viral DNA. The clonal populations harboring extrachromosomal HPV-16 DNA stably maintained approximately 1,000 viral copies for at least 15 passages (approximately 100 cell doublings), which contrasted with the unstable HPV-16 replicons in the parental counterpart. In the clonal populations harboring integrated viral DNA, 3 to 60 copies of HPV-16 DNA were found integrated in either of two forms: type 1, in which all the copies of HPV-16 DNA were disrupted in the E2 open reading frame upon integration, and type 2, in which intact viral copies were flanked by disrupted viral copies and cellular sequences. Despite the lower HPV-16 DNA copy number, the clonal populations with integrated viral DNA had levels of E7 protein that were in most cases higher than those found in the clonal populations harboring extrachromosomal viral DNA. Irrespective of viral genomic state, the clonal populations were capable of undergoing terminal differentiation and unable to form colonies in soft agar, which is indicative of the nontumorigenic nature of these cells. Importantly, a cell population with integrated viral DNA was found to outgrow another with extrachromosomal DNA when these cells were cocultured over a period of time. Thus, integration of human papillomaviral DNA correlates with increased viral gene expression and cellular growth advantage. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that integration provides a selective advantage to cervical epithelial precursors of cervical carcinoma.

Integration of human papillomavirus type 16 DNA into the human genome leads to increased stability of E6 and E7 mRNAs: implications for cervical carcinogenesis

In many cervical cancers, human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) DNA genomes are found to be integrated into the host chromosome. In this study, we demonstrate that integration of HPV-16 DNA leads to increased steady-state levels of mRNAs encoding the viral oncogenes E6 and E7. This increase is shown to result, at least in part, from an increased stability of E6 and E7 mRNAs that arise specifically from those integrated viral genomes disrupted in the 3' untranslated region of the viral early region. Further, we demonstrate that the A+U-rich element within this viral early 3' untranslated region confers instability on a heterologous mRNA. We conclude that integration of HPV-16 DNA, as occurs in cervical cancers, can result in the increased expression of the viral E6 and E7 oncogenes through altered mRNA stability.

Tumorigenicity by human papillomavirus type 16 E6 and E7 in transgenic mice correlates with alterations in epithelial cell growth and differentiation

The human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) E6 and E7 oncogenes are thought to play a role in the development of most human cervical cancers. These E6 and E7 oncoproteins affect cell growth control at least in part through their association with and inactivation of the cellular tumor suppressor gene products, p53 and Rb. To study the biological activities of the HPV-16 E6 and E7 genes in epithelial cells in vivo, transgenic mice were generated in which expression of E6 and E7 was targeted to the ocular lens. Expression of the transgenes correlated with bilateral microphthalmia and cataracts (100% penetrance) resulting from an efficient impairment of lens fiber cell differentiation and coincident induction of cell proliferation. Lens tumors formed in 40% of adult mice from the mouse lineage with the highest level of E6 and E7 expression. Additionally, when lens cells from neonatal transgenic animals were placed in tissue culture, immortalized cell populations grew out and acquired a tumorigenic phenotype with continuous passage. These observations indicate that genetic changes in addition to the transgenes are likely necessary for tumor formation. These transgenic mice and cell lines provide the basis for further studies into the mechanism of action of E6 and E7 in eliciting the observed pathology and into the genetic alterations required for HPV-16-associated tumor progression.

Atomic layer deposition and biocompatibility of titanium nitride nano-coatings on cellulose fiber substrates

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is investigated as a process to produce inorganic metallic bio-adhesive coatings on cellulosic fiber substrates. The atomic layer deposition technique is known to be capable of forming highly conformal and uniform inorganic thin film coatings on a variety of complex surfaces, and this work presents an initial investigation of ALD on porous substrate materials to produce high-precision biocompatible titanium oxynitride coatings. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed TiNOx composition, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed the coatings to be uniform and conformal on the fiber surfaces. Biocompatibility of the modified structures was determined as a function of coating layer thickness by fluorescent live/dead staining of human adipose-derived adult stem cells (hADSC) at 6, 12 and 24 h. Cell adhesion showed that thin TiNOx coatings yielded the highest number of cells after 24 h with a sample coated with a 20 A coating having approximately 28.4 +/- 3.50 ng DNA. By altering the thickness of the deposited film, it was possible to control the amount of cells adhered to the samples. This work demonstrates the potential of low temperature ALD as a surface modification technique to produce biocompatible cellulose and other implant materials.

Evolving affinity between Coulombic reversibility and hysteretic phase transformations in nano-structured silicon-based lithium-ion batteries

Nano-structured silicon is an attractive alternative anode material to conventional graphite in lithium-ion batteries. However, the anode designs with higher silicon concentrations remain to be commercialized despite recent remarkable progress. One of the most critical issues is the fundamental understanding of the lithium-silicon Coulombic efficiency. Particularly, this is the key to resolve subtle yet accumulatively significant alterations of Coulombic efficiency by various paths of lithium-silicon processes over cycles. Here, we provide quantitative and qualitative insight into how the irreversible behaviors are altered by the processes under amorphous volume changes and hysteretic amorphous-crystalline phase transformations. Repeated latter transformations over cycles, typically featured as a degradation factor, can govern the reversibility behaviors, improving the irreversibility and eventually minimizing cumulative irreversible lithium consumption. This is clearly different from repeated amorphous volume changes with different lithiation depths. The mechanism behind the correlations is elucidated by electrochemical and structural probing.

Cortical thickness and hippocampal shape in pure vascular mild cognitive impairment and dementia of subcortical type

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The progression pattern of brain structural changes in patients with isolated cerebrovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear. To investigate the role of isolated CVD in cognitive impairment patients, patterns of cortical thinning and hippocampal atrophy in pure subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI) and pure subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD) patients were characterized.

METHODS

Forty-five patients with svMCI and 46 patients with SVaD who were negative on Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography imaging and 75 individuals with normal cognition (NC) were recruited.

RESULTS

Compared with NC, patients with PiB(-) svMCI exhibited frontal, language and retrieval type memory dysfunctions, which in patients with PiB(-) SVaD were further impaired and accompanied by visuospatial and recognition memory dysfunctions. Compared with NC, patients with PiB(-) svMCI exhibited cortical thinning in the frontal, perisylvian, basal temporal and posterior cingulate regions. This atrophy was more prominent and extended further toward the lateral parietal and medial temporal regions in patients with PiB(-) SVaD. Compared with NC subjects, patients with PiB(-) svMCI exhibited hippocampal shape deformities in the lateral body, whilst patients with PiB(-) SVaD exhibited additional deformities within the lateral head and inferior body.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that patients with CVD in the absence of Alzheimer's disease pathology can be demented, showing cognitive impairment in multiple domains, which is consistent with the topography of cortical thinning and hippocampal shape deformity.

The genetics of an early Neolithic pastoralist from the Zagros, Iran

The agricultural transition profoundly changed human societies. We sequenced and analysed the first genome (1.39x) of an early Neolithic woman from Ganj Dareh, in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, a site with early evidence for an economy based on goat herding, ca. 10,000 BP. We show that Western Iran was inhabited by a population genetically most similar to hunter-gatherers from the Caucasus, but distinct from the Neolithic Anatolian people who later brought food production into Europe. The inhabitants of Ganj Dareh made little direct genetic contribution to modern European populations, suggesting those of the Central Zagros were somewhat isolated from other populations of the Fertile Crescent. Runs of homozygosity are of a similar length to those from Neolithic farmers, and shorter than those of Caucasus and Western Hunter-Gatherers, suggesting that the inhabitants of Ganj Dareh did not undergo the large population bottleneck suffered by their northern neighbours. While some degree of cultural diffusion between Anatolia, Western Iran and other neighbouring regions is possible, the genetic dissimilarity between early Anatolian farmers and the inhabitants of Ganj Dareh supports a model in which Neolithic societies in these areas were distinct.

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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.

Emergent Synapse Organizers: LAR-RPTPs and Their Companions

Leukocyte common antigen-related receptor tyrosine phosphatases (LAR-RPTPs) have emerged as key players that organize various aspects of neuronal development, including axon guidance, neurite extension, and synapse formation and function. Recent research has highlighted the roles of LAR-RPTPs at neuronal synapses in mediating distinct synaptic adhesion pathways through interactions with a host of extracellular ligands and in governing a variety of intracellular signaling cascades through binding to various scaffolds and signaling proteins. In this chapter, we review and update current research progress on the extracellular ligands of LAR-RPTPs, regulation of their extracellular interactions by alternative splicing and heparan sulfates, and their intracellular signaling machineries. In particular, we review structural insights on complexes of LAR-RPTPs with their various ligands. These studies lend support to general molecular mechanisms underlying LAR-RPTP-mediated synaptic adhesion and signaling pathways.

Inability of keratinocytes lacking their specific transglutaminase to form cross-linked envelopes: absence of envelopes as a simple diagnostic test for lamellar ichthyosis

Epidermal keratinocytes, late in their terminal differentiation, form cross-linked envelopes resistant to ionic detergent and reducing agent. Because the cross-linking process is catalyzed by the keratinocyte transglutaminase, the absence of active transglutaminase should result in failure of the keratinocyte to form a cross-linked envelope. Three keratinocyte strains bearing mutations in the keratinocyte transglutaminase were examined: two contained no detectable transglutaminase mRNA and none contained active enzyme. All three were unable to form cross-linked envelopes, either spontaneously in stratified cultures or upon induction with Ca2+. Although stratum corneum of normal humans and scales from patients with different ichthyotic diseases contain cross-linked envelopes, those from patients with transglutaminase-negative lamellar ichthyosis do not. Therefore, the disease due to the absence of transglutaminase may be readily distinguished from other ichthyotic disease by a simple test for cross-linked envelopes.

Cocaine regulates ezrin-radixin-moesin proteins and RhoA signaling in the nucleus accumbens

The ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins are a family of widely distributed membrane-associated proteins and have been implicated not only in cell-shape determination but also in signaling pathway. The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is an important neuronal substrate mediating the effects of drugs of abuse. However, it has not been determined yet how ERM proteins are regulated in this site by drugs of abuse. Here we show in rat that the phosphorylation levels of ERM protein are dose- and time-dependently decreased in the NAcc by a single injection of cocaine (15 or 30 mg/kg i.p.). Further, we show that the amount of active RhoA, a small GTPase protein, is significantly reduced in the NAcc by cocaine, while the phosphorylation levels of ERM protein are also decreased by bilateral microinjections in this site of the Rho kinase inhibitors. Together, these results suggest that cocaine reduces phosphorylated ERM levels in the NAcc by making downregulation of RhoA-Rho kinase signaling, which may importantly contribute to initiate synaptic changes in this site leading to drug addiction.

Importance of the Bulk Viscosity of QCD in Ultrarelativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

We investigate the consequences of a nonzero bulk viscosity coefficient on the transverse momentum spectra, azimuthal momentum anisotropy, and multiplicity of charged hadrons produced in heavy ion collisions at LHC energies. The agreement between a realistic 3D hybrid simulation and the experimentally measured data considerably improves with the addition of a bulk viscosity coefficient for strongly interacting matter. This paves the way for an eventual quantitative determination of several QCD transport coefficients from the experimental heavy ion and hadron-nucleus collision programs.

Characterization of antithrombotic activity of lumbrokinase-immobilized polyurethane valves in the total artificial heart

Thirty ng/mm2 lumbrokinase, a potent fibrinolytic enzyme, was immobilized in a Korean type total artificial heart (KORTAH) valve by photoreaction; polyallylamine was used as a photoreactive linker. Lumbrokinase-immobilized polyurethane valves were then fitted to the total artificial hearts of 3 healthy 50 kg lambs. In the control lamb, the valves were untreated; in one other, only valves on the right were treated; and in the remaining animal, only those on the left. Implants were in place for up to 3 days, and cardiac output was 5 L/min. To facilitate thrombus formation, low doses of heparin were administered. In the control lamb, thrombi was observed only in the inlet parts of the valves. In the other 2 experiments, thrombi formed in untreated control valves but not in lumbrokinase treated valves. The grade of thrombus formation in untreated valves was 1.06+/-1.37 versus 0+/-0 in the treated part by one-sided Student's t-test (p < 0.1). After implantation, fibrinolytic activity was only observed in treated valves by fibrin plate methods. The proteolytic activity of the treated valves was 3 times higher than that of untreated valves using the azocasein method. These data show that lumbrokinase treated polyurethane valves lead to decreased thrombus formation in vivo and that their biocompatibility is therefore greater than that of untreated valves.

Helicobacter pylori infection and serum level of pepsinogen are associated with the risk of metachronous gastric neoplasm after endoscopic resection

BACKGROUND

Patients who have undergone endoscopic resection of early gastric cancers (EGCs) are at risk for metachronous gastric neoplasm.

AIM

To determine whether serum level of pepsinogen (PG), a marker of gastric atrophy, can determine which patients who have undergone endoscopic submucosal dissection for EGC are at risk for metachronous gastric neoplasm. We also investigated the effects of Helicobacter pylori eradication on metachronous gastric neoplasm incidence.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study of 590 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection for EGC, from January 2008 to May 2013 at a tertiary centre in South Korea; serum levels of PG were measured at the time of endoscopic submucosal dissection and H. pylori infection status were recorded. In case of proven presence of current H. pylori infection, eradication treatment was provided. Patients underwent follow-up endoscopies at 3 months, 9 months, and each year after the procedure to detect neoplasms and were tested for H. pylori infection; serum levels of PG were measured at these time points from 442 of the patients. The main and sub-cohorts were assessed for baseline characteristics, H. pylori infection, serum level of PG, and metachronous gastric neoplasm lesions.

RESULTS

During a median follow-up period of 47.7 months, 64 patients developed metachronous gastric neoplasms. In multivariate analysis of the main cohort (n = 590), risk factors for metachronous gastric neoplasm included persistent H. pylori infection (hazard ratio [HR], 2.532; P = .022) and serum ratio of PGI:PGII of three or less at the time of endoscopic submucosal dissection (HR, 1.881; P = .018). Among patients with serum PG measurements, persistent H. pylori infection (odds ratio [OR], 4.404; P = .009) and persistent decrease in mean serum ratio of PGI:PGII to 3 or less were associated with increased risk of metachronous gastric neoplasm (OR, 2.141; P = .039).

CONCLUSIONS

In a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent endoscopic resection of EGCs, eradication of H. pylori infection reduced risk for metachronous gastric neoplasm. Serum ratio of PGI:PGII of 3 or less also increase risk of metachronous gastric neoplasm after endoscopic submucosal dissection. ClinicalTrials.gov. registry number, NCT02682446.

Charged particle ratio fluctuation as a signal for quark-gluon plasma

In this Letter we argue that the event-by-event fluctuations of the ratio of the positively charged and the negatively charged pions provide a signal for a quark-gluon plasma. The fact that quarks carry fractional charges is ultimately responsible for this distinct signal.

Search for a Narrow Resonance Lighter than 200 GeV Decaying to a Pair of Muons in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV

A search is presented for a narrow resonance decaying to a pair of oppositely charged muons using sqrt[s]=13  TeV proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC. In the 45-75 and 110-200 GeV resonance mass ranges, the search is based on conventional triggering and event reconstruction techniques. In the 11.5-45 GeV mass range, the search uses data collected with dimuon triggers with low transverse momentum thresholds, recorded at high rate by storing a reduced amount of trigger-level information. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 137 and 96.6  fb^{-1} for conventional and high-rate triggering, respectively. No significant resonant peaks are observed in the probed mass ranges. The search sets the most stringent constraints to date on a dark photon in the ∼30-75 and 110-200 GeV mass ranges.

Impact of smoking on neurodegeneration and cerebrovascular disease markers in cognitively normal men

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Smoking is a major risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. However, the exact pathobiology of smoking remains unknown. The effects of smoking on cortical thickness as a biomarker of neurodegeneration or white matter hyperintensities and lacunes as biomarkers of cerebrovascular burden were concurrently evaluated.

METHODS

Our study included 977 cognitively normal men who visited a health promotion centre and underwent medical check-ups, including 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were categorized into never smoker, past smoker or current smoker groups and pack-years and the years of smoking cessation were used as continuous variables.

RESULTS

The current smoker group exhibited cortical thinning in frontal and temporo-parietal regions compared with the never smoker group. These effects were particularly prominent in smokers with a high cumulative exposure to smoking in the current smoker group. However, there was no association between smoking and the severity of white matter hyperintensity or number of lacunes.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that smoking might impact on neurodegeneration rather than cerebrovascular burdens in cognitively normal men, suggesting that smoking might be an important modifiable risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease.