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1. Chicken primary myoblasts (CPMs) are precursors that form muscle fibres. The proliferation and differentiation of CPMs is an essential stage in muscle development. Previous RNA-seq analysis showed that phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) is a differentially expressed gene in chicken muscle tissue at different growth stages. Therefore, the following study explored the effect of PHGDH on the proliferation and differentiation of CPMs. 2. The effect on the proliferation of CPMs by RT–qPCR, CCK-8, and EdU assays after the overexpression and knockdown of PHGDH was evaluated. RT–qPCR, western blotting, and indirect immunofluorescence were used to detect the effect of PHGDH on the differentiation of the CPMs. The expression was observed at different time points for differentiation induced by the CPMs. 3. The results showed that PHGDH significantly promoted proliferation and differentiation in CPMs. The results showed that overexpression of PHGDH significantly upregulated CPM proliferation, while knockdown had the opposite effect. Marker genes showed that overexpression of PHGDH significantly upregulated the expression of P21, MYOG and MYOD genes, significantly downregulated the expression of the MSTN gene and promoted the expression of the MYHC protein. In contrast, PHGDH knockdown had the opposite effect. 4. Desmin immunofluorescence analysis of myotube differentiation in primary myoblasts showed that overexpression of PHGDH significantly increased the area of myotube differentiation and promoted the proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts. Knockdown of PHGDH had the opposite effect. 5. In summary, PHGDH was shown to play a positive role in regulating myoblast proliferation and differentiation. This provides a theoretical basis for further analysis of the regulatory mechanism of the PHGDH gene in chicken muscle development and for improving poultry production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conceive and construct an on-site in situ high-pressure time-resolved ultrafast optical spectroscopy instrument that facilitates ultrafast pump–probe dynamics measurements under high pressure conditions. We integrate an ultrafast pump–probe spectroscopy system with a diamond anvil cell (DAC) system. Significantly, both the DAC and the sample are fixed within the light path without motion and rotation throughout the whole ultrafast spectroscopy experiment, including tuning and calibrating the pressure. This instrument thus avoids introducing artifacts due to sample motion or rotation, enabling precision high-pressure ultrafast pump–probe dynamics investigations. As a demonstrating example, we compare the effect of on-site in situ conditions with off-site in situ conditions on the ultrafast dynamics of Sr2IrO4 under 0–44.5 GPa high pressure. Our data and analysis show that conventional possible artifacts are greatly reduced by using the on-site in situ layout. Our work helps the high-pressure ultrafast science investigation develop into a promising new area, which enables the exploration of nonequilibrium excited quantum states in the high-pressure regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most recent version of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was published in 2016. At the ESMO Asia Meeting in November 2017 it was decided by both ESMO and the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) to convene a special guidelines meeting immediately after the Chinese Thoracic Oncology Group Annual Meeting 2018, in Guangzhou, China. The aim was to adapt the ESMO 2016 guidelines to take into account the ethnic differences associated with the treatment of metastatic NSCLC cancer in Asian patients. These guidelines represent the consensus opinions reached by experts in the treatment of patients with metastatic NSCLC representing the oncological societies of China (CSCO), Japan (JSMO), Korea (KSMO), Malaysia (MOS), Singapore (SSO) and Taiwan (TOS). The voting was based on scientific evidence, and was independent of both the current treatment practices and the drug availability and reimbursement situations in the six participating Asian countries. During the review process, the updated ESMO 2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines for metastatic NSCLC were released and were also considered, during the final stages of the development of the Pan-Asian adapted Clinical Practice Guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The relation between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and fatty liver has been addressed by several observational studies, but their results remain controversial. To date, no study has precisely investigated the association of current and past HBV infection with the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the Chinese population. Therefore, we conducted a hospital‐based case‐control study in southwestern China to clarify this issue. A total of 631 newly ultrasound‐diagnosed NAFLD cases and 2357 controls were selected from 123 243 consecutive patients admitted to a tertiary‐care hospital between January 2015 and December 2016. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A propensity score was developed for adjustment and matching. Subgroup analysis was conducted to identify potential effect modifiers. Current and past HBV infection had an overall prevalence of 9.7% and 55.2%, respectively. In the fully adjusted model, current HBV infection was associated with a decreased risk of NAFLD (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.42‐0.95). A similar inverse association was observed in both propensity‐score‐adjusted (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.40‐0.86) and propensity‐score‐matched analyses (OR 0.61; 95% CI 0.40‐0.92).The inverse association was stronger in patients with hypertension than in those without (Pinteraction = .018).No significant association between past HBV infection and NAFLD risk was found. In conclusion, current but not past HBV infection is associated with a decreased risk of NAFLD in the Chinese population. The corresponding biological mechanisms remain to be elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology and structure of as-prepared aluminum silicon carbide (Al4SiC4) were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-vis spectra. The Al4SiC4 nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was further investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Based on this, this kind of new electrode was used for the detection of trace Cu2+ by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) for the first time. The electrochemical parameters influencing on deposition and stripping of metal ions, such as supporting electrolytes, pH value, deposition potential and deposition time, were also optimized. The results showed that the Al4SiC4 modified GCE exhibited excellent stripping response of Cu2+ and the stripping peaks response increased linearly with increasing concentration of Cu2+ in the ranges of 400 to 2200 nM. Under the optimized conditions the favorable sensitivity of the Al4SiC4 modified GCE toward trace Cu2+ was 1.49 μA μM−1 and the limit of detection (S/N=3) was estimated to be 2.76 nM. More importantly, Al4SiC4 modified GCE had an excellent stability and negligible interference from other coexisting metal ions in the electrochemical determination of Cu2+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review was conducted to estimate the respective prevalence of gonorrhea among two high-risk populations in China and determine the epidemiological features of gonorrhea in them. Systematic review. PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases were searched to identify studies published between January 1, 1990, and October 31, 2022, with gonorrhea prevalence tested by polymerase chain reaction among female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to investigate potential factors of heterogeneity across studies. Trend analysis of prevalence was conducted by the Jonckheere-Terpstra method. We identified 88 prevalence data points from 49 studies in China, with 30,853 participants of FSWs and 5523 participants of MSM. Pooled prevalence of gonorrhea among FSWs and MSM were 6.9% (95% confidence interval: 4.6–9.7%) and 2.5% (95% confidence interval: 1.5–3.7%), respectively. The subgroup analyses showed there were period, regional, and specimen collection methods diversities among FSWs, and diversities of the regions and specimen collection anatomical sites were found among MSM, in which the prevalence of rectum and pharynx was significantly higher than the urethra. A decreasing trend in the prevalence of gonorrhea was seen among FSWs (z = –4.03) from 1999 to 2021, not found for MSM in China. The prevalence of gonorrhea is high in two high-risk groups in China, with extragenital infections requiring particular attention. The findings of this study will provide evidence to formulate national policy and guidance for gonorrhea prevention and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osimertinib is an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) that is selective for both EGFR-TKI sensitizing and T790M resistance mutations in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. The efficacy of osimertinib as compared with platinum-based therapy plus pemetrexed in such patients is unknown.Methods: In this randomized, international, open-label, phase 3 trial, we assigned 419 patients with T790M-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, who had disease progression after first-line EGFR-TKI therapy, in a 2:1 ratio to receive either oral osimertinib (at a dose of 80 mg once daily) or intravenous pemetrexed (500 mg per square meter of body-surface area) plus either carboplatin (target area under the curve, 5 [AUC5]) or cisplatin (75 mg per square meter) every 3 weeks for up to six cycles; maintenance pemetrexed was allowed. In all the patients, disease had progressed during receipt of first-line EGFR-TKI therapy. The primary end point was investigator-assessed progression-free survival.Results: The median duration of progression-free survival was significantly longer with osimertinib than with platinum therapy plus pemetrexed (10.1 months vs. 4.4 months; hazard ratio; 0.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23 to 0.41; P<0.001). The objective response rate was significantly better with osimertinib (71%; 95% CI, 65 to 76) than with platinum therapy plus pemetrexed (31%; 95% CI, 24 to 40) (odds ratio for objective response, 5.39; 95% CI, 3.47 to 8.48; P<0.001). Among 144 patients with metastases to the central nervous system (CNS), the median duration of progression-free survival was longer among patients receiving osimertinib than among those receiving platinum therapy plus pemetrexed (8.5 months vs. 4.2 months; hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.49). The proportion of patients with adverse events of grade 3 or higher was lower with osimertinib (23%) than with platinum therapy plus pemetrexed (47%).Conclusions: Osimertinib had significantly greater efficacy than platinum therapy plus pemetrexed in patients with T790M-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (including those with CNS metastases) in whom disease had progressed during first-line EGFR-TKI therapy. (Funded by AstraZeneca; AURA3 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02151981 .). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report unambiguous observation of spatial self-phase modulation (SSPM) in a dispersive suspension of graphite flakes. This coherent nonlinear optical effect in bulk graphite is found to be broadband and large, with a third-order nonlinear susceptibility Χ(3) of 2.2 x 10-9 esu (i.e., 3.1 x 10-17 m²/V² in SI units) at 532 nm excitation. Comparison with other carbon allotropes shows that this value is 5 x 107 times higher than that of C60 but ~50 times lower than that of graphene, fully exhibiting the electronic origin of SSPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The OPTIMAL study was the first study to compare efficacy and tolerability of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) erlotinib, versus standard chemotherapy in first-line treatment of patients with EGFR mutation-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Findings from final overall survival (OS) analysis and assessment of post-study treatment impact are presented. Patients and methods: Of 165 randomised patients, 82 received erlotinib and 72 gemcitabine plus carboplatin. Final OS analyses were conducted when 70% of deaths had occurred in the intent-to-treat population. Subgroup OS was analysed by Cox proportional hazards model and included randomisation stratification factors and post-study treatments. Results: Median OS was similar between the erlotinib (22.8 months) and chemotherapy (27.2 months) arms with no significant between-group differences in the overall population [hazard ratio (HR), 1.19; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83- 1.71; P = 0.2663], the exon 19 deletion subpopulation (HR, 1.52; 95% CI 0.91-2.52; P = 0.1037) or the exon 21 L858 mutation subpopulation (HR, 0.92; 95% CI 0.55-1.54; P = 0.7392). More patients in the erlotinib arm versus the chemotherapy arm did not receive any post-study treatment (36.6% versus 22.2%). Patients who received sequential combination of EGFR-TKI and chemotherapy had significantly improved OS compared with those who received EGFR-TKI or chemotherapy only (29.7 versus 20.7 or 11.2 months, respectively; P < 0.0001). OS was significantly shorter in patients who did not receive post-study treatments compared with those who received subsequent treatments in both arms. Conclusion: The significant OS benefit observed in patients treated with EGFR-TKI emphasises its contribution to improving survival of EGFR mutant NSCLC patients, suggesting that erlotinib should be considered standard first-line treatment of EGFR mutant patients and EGFR-TKI treatment following first-line therapy also brings significant benefits to those patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The phase III, randomized, open-label ENSURE study (NCT01342965) evaluated first-line erlotinib versus gemcitabine/cisplatin (GP) in patients from China, Malaysia and the Philippines with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and methods: Patients ≥18 years old with histologically/cytologically confirmed stage IIIB/IV EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2 were randomized 1:1 to receive erlotinib (oral; 150 mg once daily until progression/unacceptable toxicity) or GP [G 1250 mg/m² i.v. days 1 and 8 (3-weekly cycle); P 75 mg/m² i.v. day 1, (3-weekly cycle) for up to four cycles]. Primary end point: investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS). Other end points include objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and safety. Results: A total of 217 patients were randomized: 110 to erlotinib and 107 to GP. Investigator-assessed median PFS was 11.0 months versus 5.5 months, erlotinib versus GP, respectively [hazard ratio (HR), 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.22-0.51; log-rank P < 0.0001]. Independent Review Committee-assessed median PFS was consistent (HR, 0.42). Median OS was 26.3 versus 25.5 months, erlotinib versus GP, respectively (HR, 0.91, 95% CI 0.63-1.31; log-rank P = .607). ORR was 62.7% for erlotinib and 33.6% for GP. Treatment-related serious adverse events (AEs) occurred in 2.7% versus 10.6% of erlotinib and GP patients, respectively. The most common grade ≥3 AEs were rash (6.4%) with erlotinib, and neutropenia (25.0%), leukopenia (14.4%), and anemia (12.5%) with GP. Conclusion: These analyses demonstrate that first-line erlotinib provides a statistically significant improvement in PFS versus GP in Asian patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC (NCT01342965). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new four‐dimensional hyperchaotic oscillator is proposed. Non‐linear dynamic analysis of the hyperchaotic oscillator is presented. Furthermore, an analogue circuit of the hyperchaotic oscillator is implemented on a chip for some relevant engineering applications such as information encryption. The entire chip area occupies 0.69 × 0.84 mm in 0.35 μm CMOS process with power dissipation of 475 mW from a 3.3 V supply voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We utilize the new Magellan adaptive optics system (MagAO) to image the binary proplyd LV 1 in the Orion Trapezium at Hα. This is among the first AO results in visible wavelengths. The Hα image clearly shows the ionization fronts, the interproplyd shell, and the cometary tails. Our astrometric measurements find no significant relative motion between components over ~18 yr, implying that LV 1 is a low-mass system.We also analyze Large Binocular Telescope AO observations, and find a point source which may be the embedded protostar's photosphere in the continuum. Converting the H magnitudes to mass, we show that the LV 1 binary may consist of one very-lowmass star with a likely brown dwarf secondary, or even plausibly a double brown dwarf. Finally, the magnetopause of the minor proplyd is estimated to have a radius of 110 AU, consistent with the location of the bow shock seen in Hα. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This phase II, open-label study evaluated the efficacy and safety of erlotinib as second-line therapy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastases (BM). Patients and methods Forty-eight patients aged 18–75 years with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0–2, confirmed adenocarcinoma or activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive NSCLC, and asymptomatic BM without extracranial progressive disease after first-line platinum-doublet chemotherapy were recruited. Treatment comprised erlotinib 150 mg/day. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) determined by RECIST. Results The median PFS was 10.1 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 7.1–12.3] for intracranial progression and 9.7 months (95% CI 2.5–17.8) for intracranial and systemic progression. Patients with EGFR mutation-positive disease had significantly longer median PFS versus EGFR wild-type disease [15.2 months (95% CI 8.3–22.2) versus 4.4 months (95% CI 0.0–11.6); P = 0.02]. The median overall survival was 18.9 months (95% CI 14.4–23.4); 6-month and 1-year survival rates were 85% and 73%, respectively. Overall response rate was 58.3%. Most common adverse events were rash (77.1%), paronychia (20.8%), hyperbilirubinemia (16.7%), and diarrhea (14.6%); these were predominantly of grade 1/2. Conclusions Single-agent erlotinib was active and well tolerated in NSCLC patients with BM. Further studies are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Introduction: This randomized, open-label study compared pemetrexed versus docetaxel as second-line therapy for Chinese patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The primary endpoint tested non-inferiority of overall survival (OS) on the combined data from these patients and those in the global registration trial. Data from patients in the current study only (Chinese patients) were the basis for the study''s secondary objectives. Methods: Patients with stage IIIB/IV disease were randomized (1:1) to receive pemetrexed (500mg/m2; 107 randomized; 106 treated) or docetaxel (75mg/m2; 104 randomized; 102 treated) on Day 1 of each 21-day cycle. Treatment continued until progressive disease, unacceptable toxicity or patient/investigator decision. All efficacy and safety data were analyzed at the pre-specified study completion; supplementary OS analyses were performed later, after additional events had been recorded. Results: The primary endpoint of OS noninferiority of pemetrexed to docetaxel was not met, the lower CL was <50% and P >0.025 (efficacy retained=97.9% [95% CLs: 47.1, 141.9]; P =0.0276), in the combined population (pemetrexed: n =390, docetaxel: n =392). Supplementary values were 101.3% (95% CLs: 57.9, 148.8), P =0.0186. For the secondary objectives, assessed in the population from the current study (pemetrexed: n =107, docetaxel: n =104), median OS was 11.7 and 12.2 months for the pemetrexed and docetaxel arms, respectively (HR [95% CLs]: 1.14 [0.78, 1.68], P =0.492). Supplementary values were 11.4 and 11.5 months, respectively (HR [95% CLs]: 1.02 [0.74, 1.40], P =0.926). Median PFS values were 2.8 and 3.1 months (HR [95% CLs]: 1.05 [0.75, 1.46], P =0.770) and ORR values were 9.6% and 4.1% (odds ratio [95% CLs]: 2.50 [0.76, 8.25], P =0.133) for pemetrexed and docetaxel, respectively. Pemetrexed-treated patients had significantly fewer drug-related grade 3–4 adverse events (pemetrexed: 20.8%, docetaxel: 40.2%; P =0.003). Few drug-related serious adverse events were reported (pemetrexed: 5 patients, docetaxel: 8 patients). Conclusion: The comparable efficacy and superior tolerability of pemetrexed compared with docetaxel in this study supports the use of single-agent, second-line pemetrexed for advanced non-squamous NSCLC in Chinese patients. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00391274. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Graves disease ( GD) is an autoimmune thyroid disease with a female preponderance and a wide range of ages at onset, and human leukocyte antigen ( HLA) gene plays a primary role in the susceptibility to GD. We aim to investigate the associations between HLA-DRB1 alleles and Taiwanese children with GD by both case-control and family-based studies. A total of 241 unrelated children with GD, 539 healthy controls, 115 trios of affected patients and their parents, and 121 trios of unaffected siblings and their parents were recruited. HLA-DRB1 genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction and sequence-based typing assays. We found that DRB1*09:01 ( OR = 2.60, 95% CI 2.02-3.35, Pc = 6.55 × 10−13) was associated with GD risk, while DRB1*12:02 ( OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.20-0.53, Pc = 4.55 × 10−5) was protective against GD. Transmission/disequilibrium test further confirmed an overtransmission of the DRB1*09:01 ( OR 3.37, 95% CI 2.13-6.22, Pc = 1.0 × 10−5) and an undertransmission of the DRB1*12:02 ( OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.05-0.42, Pc = 1.7 × 10−3). The findings were similar in females when stratified by gender. In conclusion, our results clearly identify that HLA-DRB1*09:01 confers susceptibility to GD and DRB1*12:02 exerts protection against GD development in Taiwanese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel arbitrary asymmetric branch-line coupler structure terminated by one group of complex impedances is proposed. Two left ports of the proposed branch-line coupler are terminated by equal arbitrary complex impedances, and the other two right ports are terminated by equal real impedances. Arbitrary power division ratios are feasible for the proposed structure. Using rigorous even- and odd-mode analysis and scattering parameters theory based on complex impedances, the closed-form design formulas for designing the proposed branch-line coupler is obtained. To validate the proposed structure and the given design equations, a microstrip branch-line coupler operating at the center frequency of 2.5GHz and terminated by 20 and 30 − 6j Ohm impedances is designed, simulated and measured. There is a good agreement between the simulated and measured results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A source penumbral image reconstruction method with linear mapping principle for geometrical optics is established. The ideal binary point spread function (PSF) can be obtained using a geometrical optics model. The system PSF with certain sharpness was obtained using a Monte Carlo (MC) model. Considering other factors besides the transportation of the x (γ)-rays or particles (fusion neutrons) in the penumbral encoding aperture in MC model, such as the scattering background and the systematic error, the PSF from MC model “source-image pair matching” experiments with a large area standard oval shape source were processed. A method for correcting and calibrating the PSF by the expectation maximization adaptive algorithm was established and the optimized PSF with 22.30 μm sharpness was achieved. This is more consistent with the real system PSF despite the increased noise level of the two-dimensional PSF and large irregularity in the PSF profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expression of hTERT gene, encoding the catalytic subunit of telomerase, is a feature of most cancer cells. Changes in the chromatin environment of its promoter and binding of transcriptional factors have been reported in differentiating cells when its transcription is repressed. However, it is not clear whether these changes are directly involved in this repression or only linked to differentiation. In a maturation-resistant acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line (NB4-LR1), we have previously identified a new pathway of retinoid-induced hTERT repression independent of differentiation. Using a variant of this cell line (NB4-LR1SFD), which resists to this repression, we show that although distinct patterns of histone modifications and transcription factor binding at the proximal domain of hTERT gene promoter could concur to modulate its expression, this region is not sufficient to the on/off switch of hTERT by retinoids. DNA methylation analysis of the hTERT promoter led to the identification of two distinct functional domains, a proximal one, fully unmethylated in both cell lines, and a distal one, significantly methylated in NB4-LR1SFD cells, whose methylation was further re-enforced by retinoid treatment. Interestingly, we showed that the binding to this distal domain of a known hTERT repressor, WT1, was defective only in NB4-LR1SFD cells. We propose that epigenetic modifications targeting this distal region could modulate the binding of hTERT repressors and account either for hTERT reactivation and resistance to retinoid-induced hTERT downregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on L-type dual-band impedance matching structure, this paper presents a new symmetric modified Wilkinson power divider for dual-band applications. In the matching structure, two transmission line stubs can be used to implement impedance matching and space isolation for two transmission ways, simultaneously. In the isolation structure, a single resistor is applied, and the design values are adjusted according to the center frequency ratio. In this proposed power divider, the ideal matching of all ports, equal power splitting and isolation between the output ports can be achieved. Theoretically, the nonlinear design equations for normalized parameters are directly derived based on the conventional even- and odd-mode analysis. In microstrip experiments, simulated and measured results of two fabricated power dividers with different frequency ratios are given. It can be clearly seen that there are good agreements between the theoretical and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complete deficiency of complement C4 is among the strongest genetic risk factors for human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). C4 is a constituent of the RP–C4–CYP21–TNX (RCCX) module in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) that exhibits inter-individual copy-number and gene-size variations. Here, we studied two North-African families with complete C4 deficiency and SLE. The first included a Moroccan male SLE patient (1P) and a sibling, who were both homozygous for HLA-A*02 B*17 DRB1*07. The second had an Algerian female SLE patient (2P) homozygous for HLA-A*01 B*17 DRB1*13. Early SLE disease onset, the presence of photosensitive rashes, anti-Ro/SSA, renal disease and high titers of antinuclear antibodies were the common features of complete C4 deficiency. Southern blot analyses showed that 1P had monomodular RCCX with a long C4A, whereas 2P had bimodular RCCX with one long C4A and one short C4B. Genomic DNA fragments for these mutant genes were amplified and sequenced. A C>T transition that created the R540X nonsense mutation in C4A was found in 1P. An identical 4-bp insertion that generated the Y1537X nonsense mutation was discovered in both C4A and C4B of 2P. The high concordance of SLE and C4 deficiency among patients with non-DR3 and non-DR2 haplotypes underscores the importance of C4 proteins in the protection against SLE.Genes and Immunity (2009) 10, 433–445; doi:10.1038/gene.2009.10; published online 12 March 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To provide comprehensive observations and in-depth standy of the physical property of the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs), the Lulin Observatory in Taiwan has started a program to study the time variabilities of lightcurves of large TNOs and dwarf planets. Our initial results show that (50000) Quaoar has a significant brightness variation of Δm ∼0.3 with a rotation period of about 18.84h while (136199) Eris (formerly 2003 UB313) has very little brightness variation (Δm ∼0.05). The rotation period of Eris is hence highly uncertain even though a periodicity of 3.55h is suggested by our measurements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We present the effective chiral Lagrangian of mesons (peusodoscalars, vectors and axial-vectors) obtained in the chiral limit by using two approaches. The first approach is based on symmetries: the explicit global chiral symmetry and hidden local chiral symmetry. In this approach, it is noticed that there are in general fourteen interacting terms up to the dimension-four of covariant derivative for meson fields rather than the usual eleven interacting terms given in literature from hidden local symmetry approach. Of particular, the additional terms are found to be very important for understanding the vector meson dominance and providing consistent predictions on the decay rates of a1 → γπ and a1 → ρπ as well as for resulting a consistent effective chiral Lagrangian with chiral perturbation theory. The second approach is motivated from the chiral symmetry of chiral quarks and the bound state solutions of nonperturbative QCD at low energy and large Nc. The second approach is more fundamental in the sense that it is based on the QCD Lagrangian of quarks and only relies on two basic parameters in addition to the ones in the standard model. As a consequence, it allows us to extract, in terms of only two basic parameters, all the fourteen parameters in the more general effective Lagrangian constructed from symmetries in the first approach. It is surprising to note that except the necessity of three additional new interacting terms introduced in this paper, the resulting values of the coupling constants for other three interacting terms at the dimension-four are also quite different from the ones given in the literature. It is likely that the structures of the effective chiral Lagrangian for the dimension-four given in the literatures by using hidden local symmetry are incomplete and consequently the resulting coulpings are not reliable. It is shown that the more general effective chiral Lagrangian given in the present paper shall provide a more consistent prediction for all the low energy phenomenology of ρ - a1 system and result in a more consistent description on the low energy behavior of light flavor mesons. Its fourteen parameters up to the dimension-four of covariant derivative may be uniquely determined from the effective chiral theory based on the second approach, which is consistent with the chiral perturbation theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic calculation for the transition form factors of heavy to light mesons (B, Bs, D, Ds → π, K, η, ρ, K*, ω, ϕ) is carried out by using light-cone sum rules in the framework of heavy quark effective field theory. The heavy quark symmetry at the leading order of 1/mQ expansion enables us to reduce the independent wave functions and establish interesting relations among form factors. Some relations hold for the whole region of momentum transfer. The meson distribution amplitudes up to twist-4 including the contributions from higher conformal spin partial waves and light meson mass corrections are considered. The CKM matrix elements |Vub|, |Vcs| and |Vcd| are extracted from some relatively well-measured decay channels. A detailed prediction for the branching ratios of heavy to light meson decays is then presented. The resulting predictions for the semileptonic and radiative decay rates of heavy to light mesons (B, Bs, D, Ds → π, K, η, ρ, K*, ω, ϕ) are found to be compatible with the current experimental data and can be tested by more precise experiments at B-factory, LHCb, BEPCII and CLEOc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong phases and CP violation in the rare B̄0→K+K-, K*±K∓, K*+K*- decays are investigated. As these decays proceed only via annihilation type diagrams in the standard model (SM), a dynamical gluon mass is introduced to avoid the infrared divergence in the soft endpoint regions. The Cutkosky rule is adopted to deal with a physical-region singularity of the on-mass-shell quark propagators, which leads to a big imaginary part and hence a large strong phase. As a consequence, large CP asymmetries are predicted in those decay modes due to a big interference between the annihilation amplitudes from penguin and tree operators, which may be tested in future more precise experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic semiconductors have attracted significant interest because of their potential application in electronic devices. One of the most important parameters in such an application is the carrier mobility, which is low when compared with inorganic semiconductors. In the past, significant effort has been spent to produce high mobility organic semiconductors, even though the best room temperature value reported is only a few cm2/V.s. In the work, the field-effect carrier mobility in organic semiconductors is examined by correlating reported data for pentacene with simulations based on the correlated disorder model. Using the rms width of the density of states (DOS) as the main variable, a good match between data and simulations has been produced. The results suggested that the carrier mobility in disordered organic semiconductors could be solely dependent on σ, the rms width of the DOS. The rather small value of σ used in the calculations pointed to the need for a better understanding into the transport mechanism within this regime. Other fitting parameters affected the carrier mobility included the site spacing and the barrier height, both of which were capable of changing the carrier mobility. A more careful examination revealed that there were physical constraints limiting the values of these parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method is an effective local mesh-free method for solving partial differential equations using moving least-squares (MLS) approximation and local weak form. In this article, the MLPG formulation is used with some modifications to simulate the incompressible flow within an irregular domain with scattered nodal distribution. The governing equations are taken in terms of vorticity–stream functions. It is found that the results agree very well with the available results in the literature. The numerical examples show that the MLPG method is a very promising method for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) problems, as the requirement for a global mesh is removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-level expression of Rad51, a key factor in homologous recombination, has been observed in a variety of human malignancies. This study was aimed to evaluate Rad51 expression to serve as prognostic marker in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A total of 383 non-small-cell lung tumours were analysed immunohistochemically on NSCLC tissue microarrays. High-level Rad51 expression was observed in 29.4% (100 out of 340) of cases. Patients whose tumours displayed high-level Rad51 expression showed a significantly shorter median survival time of 19 vs 68 months (P<0.0001, log-rank test). Similarly T status, N status, M status, clinical stage and histological tumour grade were significant prognostic markers in univariate Cox survival analysis. Importantly, Rad51 expression (P<0.0001) together with tumour differentiation (P<0.009), clinical stage (P=0.004) and N status (P=0.0001) proved to be independent prognostic parameters in multivariate analysis. Rad51 expression predicted the outcome of squamous cell cancer as well as adenocarcinoma of the lung. Our results suggest that Rad51 expression provides additional prognostic information for surgically treated NSCLC patients. We hypothesise that the decreased survival of NSCLC patients with high-level expression of Rad51 is related to an enhanced propensity of tumour cells for survival, antiapoptosis and chemo-/radioresistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently proposed domain-free discretization (DFD) method is based on the Lagrange interpolation and polynomial-based differential quadrature (PDQ) method. In this article, the radial basis function (RBF) approximation is used in the DFD method as the interpolation scheme for function approximation, and the RBF-DQ method is applied to derivative approximation. The new variant of DFD method is then applied to simulation of natural convection in both concentric and eccentric annuli between inner circular and outer square cylinders. It is found from the numerical examples that the usage of radial basis function can greatly enhance the DFD method in terms of the computational stability and convergence speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the time-dependent CP asymmetry of the decay B → &phis;Ks in an extension of the standard model with both a two Higgs doublet and additional fourth-generation quarks. We show that, although the standard model with a two Higgs doublet and the standard model with fourth-generation quarks alone are not likely to largely change the effective sin 2β from the decay B → &phis;Ks, the model with both an additional Higgs doublet and fourth-generation quarks can easily account for the possible large negative value of sin 2β without conflicting with other experimental constraints. In this model, additional large CP violating effects may arise from the flavor-changing Yukawa interactions between neutral Higgs bosons and the heavy fourth-generation down type quark, which can modify the QCD penguin contributions. With the constraints obtained from b → s&smacr;s processes such as B → Xsγ and δmB2o , this model can lead to an effective sin 2β as large as -0.4 in the CP asymmetry of B → &phis;Ks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate in detail both the Cabibbo-allowed and singly Cabibbo-suppressed D → PV decays based on the diagrammatic decomposition in the factorization formalism. Two sets of solutions discarded in the literature are picked up and discussed carefully. It is found that one of these solutions can provide satisfactory explanation in a natural manner on the process D+ → &Ksline;0 K*+ which is thought to be a puzzle. The relations EV + EP = 0 and AV + AP = 0 are badly broken, which indicates that the exchange and annihilation diagrams may receive contributions from more sources other than the qq intermediate state interactions. It is shown that, to have a consistent explanation to the experimental data with reasonable values for the parameters a1 and a2, the SU(3) symmetry breaking effects have to be considered. The SU(3) flavor symmetry breaking effects due to mass factors and due to formfactors and decay constants are analyzed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heavy quark effective field theory (HQEFT) is revisited in a more intuitive way. It is shown that HQEFT is a consistent large component QCD of heavy quarks. In the nonrelativistic limit, HQEFT recovers the nonrelativistic QCD (NRQCD). The resulting new effects in the HQEFT of QCD are carefully re-examined. It is then natural to give comments on the usual heavy quark effective theory (HQET). Consistent phenomenological applications of HQEFT exhibit its interesting features and completeness in comparison with HQET. It then becomes manifest why we shall base on the HQEFT of QCD rather than HQET which is incomplete for computing 1/m[sub Q] corrections. More precise extraction for ∣V[sub cb]∣ and ∣V[sub ub]∣ in the HQEFT of QCD is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B meson rare decays (B → K(K*)l&lsline; and B → K*γ) are analyzed in the framework of effective field theory of heavy quarks. The semileptonic and penguin type form factors for these decays are calculated by using the light cone sum rules method at the leading order of 1/m[SUBQ] expansion. Four exact relations between the two types of form factors are obtained at the leading order of 1/m[SUBQ] expansion. In particular, the relations are found to hold for the whole momentum transfer region. We also investigate the validity of the relations resulting from the large energy effective theory based on the general relations obtained in the present approach. The branching ratios of the rare decays are presented and their potential importance for extracting the CKM matrix elements and probing new physics is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic investigation on the muon's anomalous magnetic moment and a related lepton flavor-violating process such as µ → eγ, τ → eγ and τ → µγ is made at the two-loop level in the models with flavor-changing scalar interactions. The two-loop diagrams with double scalar exchanges are studied and their contributions are found to be compatible with the ones from the Barr-Zee diagram. By comparing with the latest data, the allowed ranges for the relevant Yukawa couplings Yij in the lepton sector are obtained. The results show the hierarchical structure Yµe,τe ... Yµτ... Yµµ in the physical basis if Δa&micro: is found to be > 50 × 10-11. It deviates from the widely used ansatz in which the off-diagonal elements are proportional to the square root of the products of the related fermion masses. An alternative Yukawa coupling matrix in the lepton sector is suggested to understand the current data. With such a reasonable Yukawa coupling ansatz, the decay rate of τ → µγ is found to be near the current experiment upper bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]