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Purpose: To compare CDK4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) with endocrine therapy (ET) in the first- versus second-line setting for treatment of hormone receptor positive (HR+), HER2 negative, metastatic breast cancer (MBC) using real-world evidence. Methods: Patients with HR+, HER2 negative MBC, diagnosed between 2/3/2015 and 11/2/2021 and having ≥ 3 months follow-up were identified from the nationwide electronic health record-derived Flatiron Health de-identified database. Treatment cohorts included: (1) first-line ET with a CDK 4/6i (1st-line CDK4/6i) versus (2) first-line ET alone followed by second-line ET with a CDK4/6i (2nd-line CDK4/6i). Differences in baseline characteristics were tested using chi-square tests and two-sample t-tests. Time to third-line therapy, time to start of chemotherapy, and overall survival were compared using Kaplan-Maier method. Results: The analysis included 2771 patients (2170 1st-line CDK4/6i and 601 2nd-line CDK4/6i). Patients receiving 1st-line CDK4/6i were younger (75% vs 68% < 75 years old, p = 0.0001), less likely uninsured or not having insurance status documented (10% vs. 13%, p = 0.04), of better performance status (50% vs 43% with ECOG 0, p = 0.03), and more likely to have de novo MBC (36% vs. 24%, p < 0.001). Time to third-line therapy (49 vs 22 months, p < 0.001) and time to chemotherapy (68 vs 41 months, p < 0.001) were longer in those receiving first-line CDK4/6i. Overall survival (54 vs 49 months, p = 0.33) was similar between groups. Conclusion: Use of CDK4/6i with first-, vs second-, line ET was associated with longer time to receipt of 3rd-line therapy and longer time to receipt of chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peptide transporter 1 (PepT1) transports bacterial oligopeptide products and induces inflammation of the bowel. Nutritional peptides compete for the binding of intestinal bacterial products to PepT1. We investigated the mechanism of short-peptide-based enteral nutrition (SPEN) on the damage to the gut caused by the bacterial oligopeptide product muramyl dipeptide (MDP), which is transported by PepT1. The gut-lung axis is a shared mucosal immune system, and immune responses and disorders can affect the gut-respiratory relationship. Methods and results: Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged with solutions containing MDP, MDP + SPEN, MDP + intact-protein-based enteral nutrition (IPEN), glucose as a control, or glucose with GSK669 (a NOD2 antagonist). Inflammation, mitochondrial damage, autophagy, and apoptosis were explored to determine the role of the PepT1-nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2)-beclin-1 signaling pathway in the small intestinal mucosa. MDP and proinflammatory factors of lung tissue were explored to determine that MDP can migrate to lung tissue and cause inflammation. Induction of proinflammatory cell accumulation and intestinal damage in MDP gavage rats was associated with increased NOD2 and Beclin-1 mRNA expression. IL-6 and TNF-α expression and apoptosis were increased, and mitochondrial damage was severe, as indicated by increased mtDNA in the MDP group compared with controls. MDP levels and expression of proinflammatory factors in lung tissue increased in the MDP group compared with the control group. SPEN, but not IPEN, eliminated these impacts. Conclusions: Gavage of MDP to rats resulted in damage to the gut-lung axis. SPEN reverses the adverse effects of MDP. The PepT1-NOD2-beclin-1 pathway plays a role in small intestinal inflammation, mitochondrial damage, autophagy, and apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The specific process of hydrogen generation by the reaction of In7 and In6Al clusters with H2O molecules is explored through density functional theory in this study. Based on the prediction of the lowest energy structure of In7 and In6Al clusters, the geometric and electronic structures of In7@H2O and In6Al@H2O are obtained by using the dispersion-corrected density functional theory B3LYP-D3. The corresponding reaction paths are constructed according to the transition states in the searched reactions. Then we discuss the reaction path, energy barrier and reaction energy release. The results show that both In7 and In6Al clusters can react with H2O molecules and release hydrogen. Both reactions are exothermic reactions, and the structure of the reaction product are very similar. The comparison of adsorption energy, energy barrier and reaction release energy show that the Al-doped In7 cluster can significantly improve its ability to react with H2O and reduce the energy barrier that has to be overcome for the reaction process. The generated H2 exists on the cluster surface in the form of physical adsorption, which is judged by the adsorption energy, the distance between the H2 molecule and the cluster surface, and the interaction region indicator (IRI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate potential differences in pathological complete response (pCR) rates and overall survival (OS) between HER2-low and HER2-zero patients with early-stage hormone receptor (HR)-positive and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy setting. Methods: We identified early-stage invasive HER2-negative BC patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy diagnosed between 2010 and 2018 in the National Cancer Database. HER2-low was defined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) 1+ or 2+ with negative in situ hybridization, and HER2-zero by IHC0. All the methods were applied separately in the HR-positive and TNBC cohorts. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association of HER2 status with pCR (i.e. ypT0/Tis and ypN0). Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were applied to estimate the association of HER2 status with OS. Inverse probability weighting and/or multivariable regression were applied to all analyses. Results: For HR-positive patients, 70.9% (n = 17,934) were HER2-low, whereas 51.1% (n = 10,238) of TNBC patients were HER2-low. For both HR-positive and TNBC cohorts, HER2-low status was significantly associated with lower pCR rates [HR-positive: 5.0% vs. 6.7%; weighted odds ratio (OR) = 0.81 (95% CI: 0.72–0.91), p < 0.001; TNBC: 21.6% vs. 24.4%; weighted OR = 0.91 (95% CI: 0.85–0.98), p = 0.007] and improved OS [HR-positive: weighted hazard ratio = 0.85 (95% CI: 0.79–0.91), p < 0.001; TNBC: weighted hazard ratio = 0.91 (95% CI: 0.86–0.96), p < 0.001]. HER2-low status was associated with favorable OS among patients not achieving pCR [HR-positive: adjusted hazard ratio = 0.83 (95% CI: 0.77–0.89), p < 0.001; TNBC: adjusted hazard ratio = 0.88 (95% CI 0.83–0.94), p < 0.001], while no significant difference in OS was observed in patients who achieved pCR [HR-positive: adjusted hazard ratio = 1.00 (95% CI: 0.61–1.63), p > 0.99; TNBC: adjusted hazard ratio = 1.11 (95% CI: 0.85–1.45), p = 0.44]. Conclusion: In both early-stage HR-positive and TNBC patients, HER2-low status was associated with lower pCR rates. HER2-zero status might be considered an adverse prognostic factor for OS in patients not achieving pCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel air bleeding aerodynamic diffuser is proposed based on the study of the traditional dump diffuser. The performance and flow characteristics of these two diffusers are compared and analyzed using the numerical simulation method, which is validated by experiments. The effects of length and hole diameter on the diffuser's performance are also studied. The results reveal that, at inlet Mach numbers of 0.15, 0.20 and 0.30, compared with the dump diffuser, the total pressure loss coefficient of the new diffuser decreases by 18.52 %, 15.05 % and 40.23 %. The performance of the air bleeding aerodynamic diffuser with varing lengths has little change, which means its aerodynamic capabilities are still capable of meeting the requirements of advanced combustion chambers. As the diameter of the air bleed hole increases, the total pressure loss coefficient of the diffuser decreases and becomes gentler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultrasonic melt treatment (UMT) is widely used in the fields of casting and metallurgy. However, there are certain drawbacks associated with the conventional process of single-source ultrasonic (SSU) treatment, such as the fast attenuation of energy and limited range of effectiveness. In this study, the propagation models of SSU and four-source ultrasonic (FSU) in Al melt were respectively established, and the distribution patterns of acoustic and streaming field during the ultrasonic treatment process were investigated by numerical simulation and physical experiments. The simulated results show that the effective cavitation zone is mainly located in a small spherical region surrounding the end of ultrasonic horn during the SSU treatment process. When the FSU is applied, the effective cavitation zone is obviously expanded in the melt. It increases at first and then decreases with increasing the vibration-source spacing (Lv) from 30 mm to 100 mm. Especially, when the Lv is 80 mm, the area of effective cavitation zone reaches the largest, indicating the best effect of cavitation. Moreover, the acoustic streaming level and flow pattern in the melt also change with the increase of Lv. When the Lv is 80 mm, both the average flow rate and maximum flow rate of the melt reach the highest, and the flow structure is more stable and uniform, with the typical morphological characteristics of angular vortex, thus significantly expanding the range of acoustic streaming. The accuracy of the simulation results was verified by physical experiments of glycerol aqueous solution and tracer particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is a serious complication in hematologic malignancy, and early detection and management of CNS involvement in these cases significantly impact the prognosis. Currently, there is no consensus on the use of multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC) and conventional cytology (CC) testing for initial and follow-up cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens to diagnose CNS involvement by hematologic malignancy. In our institution, after initial MFC and CC, two subsequent negative MFCs are required before discontinuing MFC. The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of this approach. CSF cytology and MFC reports were retrieved from Laboratory Information System, and data was reviewed. Between January 2020 and December 2021, 1789 CSF samples from 280 patients were submitted for CSF analysis. For those 517 CSF samples tested by both MFC and CC, 97 cases tested positive by both MFC and CC with 95% concordance. Eighteen cases were MFC + /CC − and 7 were MFC − /CC +. Thirty-six cases had initially positive MFCs followed by more than one MFC evaluation. Among those 36 cases, 22 cases (61.1%) converted to negative after the second follow-up sample, 9 cases (25%) were continuously positive for at least three samples, and 5 cases (13.9%) exhibited negative to positive conversion. Compared to negative CSF cases, positive CSFs had higher total nucleated cell count and higher total protein levels while red blood cells, glucose, and lactate dehydrogenase levels remained at comparable levels. The concordance between MFC and CC was excellent. The high incidence of positive MFCs on two or more follow-up samples and the high frequency of negative MFC to positive conversion indicate the necessity of repeated negative MFCs before discontinuing MFC. The fact that more than half of the positive cases converted to negative after the second CSF specimen and most follow-up positive cases can be detected by CC alone suggests it is adequate to use CC alone for follow-up CSF study after two consecutive negative MFCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurable residual disease (MRD) detection for precursor B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) has become the standard of care. However, the testing methodology has not been standardized. We aim to correlate COG multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) and ClonoSEQ techniques to assess the test characteristics, to study abnormal immunophenotype for B-ALL MRD, and to observe B-ALL clonal evolution and the impact of blinatumomab therapy on MFC testing. MFC and molecular reports were retrieved from electronic medical records and data was reviewed. Included in this study were 74 bone marrow samples collected from 31 B-ALL patients at our institution between January 2021 and March 2022. COG MFC and ClonoSEQ results were concordant in 59/74 samples (80%) with positive concordant results in 12 samples (16%) and negative concordant results in 47 samples (64%). Discordant results were seen in 15/74 samples (20%), with 14 samples (19%) showing ClonoSEQ + /MFC- results and only 1 sample (1%) showing MFC + /ClonoSEQ- result. ClonoSEQ + /MFC- cases had MRD values ranging from 1 to 1400 cells/million nucleated cells with 86% of cases showing MRD values of < 100 cells/million nucleated cells. Newly identified dominant sequences were detected using ClonoSEQ in 2/31 patients (6%) during follow-up. All 14 bone marrow samples from 8 patients, who had gone through blinatumomab immunotherapy, were MRD negative by MFC, but 3 cases were MRD positive by ClonoSEQ. Our results show strong correlation between COG MFC and ClonoSEQ (r = 0.96), and both methods are complementary. Clonal evolution may occur, and blinatumomab immunotherapy may impact MFC B-ALL MRD evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss quantum randomness expansion using the unreliable source device and the honest measure device consisting of mutually unbiased bases in 3-dimensional Hilbert space. Then, we obtain the relationship between 3-dimensional quantum witness and random number generation rate. Furthermore, the analytic expression of the relationship is given, which is of great significance for security analysis and practical application. This work can be considered a preliminary attempt for semi-device-independent quantum random number extension protocols in 3-dimensional Hilbert space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While a large body of literature investigates the bidirectional relationship between retirement and health, few have analyzed the mechanism through which retirement affects health which will provide important policy instrument insights. Using three waves of National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, we examine the mediating role of the social network in the relationship between retirement and health in USA. We address the endogeneity and reverse causality through panel instrumental fixed-effect methods. We apply both single and parallel mediation analyses to identify the potential mechanism by which social network characteristics mediate the impact of retirement on health. Findings reveal that retirement adversely affects physical and mental health outcomes, and a considerable portion of these effects are explained by social network changes post-retirement. Specifically, 58% of reduction in the probability of reporting good physical health and 4.5% of increment in chances of having depression symptoms post-retirement can be explained by shrinkage in the size of social network in retirees. Using parallel mediation identification to account for dependencies among social network features, we find that social network size induces 79.5% reduction in probability of reporting good physical health and 18.6% increase in probability of having depression in retirees as compared to non-retirees. Findings in this paper suggest that investing in social network of the elderly can buffer the adverse health effect of retirement and can be an effective policy target for promoting healthy aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We make a first principle study of gravitational pressure in cosmic thermo- dynamics. The pressure is directly derived from the unified first law, in fact the Einstein field equation in spherically symmetric spacetime. By using this pressure, we obtain the thermodynamics for the FRW universe, especially presenting the gravitational equation of state for the FRW spacetime itself, i.e. P = P (RA, T) for the first time. Furthermore, we study the Joule-Thomson expansion as an application of the thermodynamic equation of state to find the cooling-heating property of the FRW universe. We demonstrate that there is an inversion temperature for a FRW universe if its enthalpy ℋ is negative. These investigations shed insights on the evolution of our universe in view of thermodynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the quenching sensitivity of the 2195 Al–Li alloy rolled sheet and guide the design of the quenching process, the time–temperature-property (TTP) curves of this material were researched through interrupted quenching experiments. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to characterize the evolution of precipitates during isothermal treatment. The results of this essay demonstrated that the nose temperature of 2195 Al–Li alloy is around 370 °C and the temperature range of quenching sensitivity is 340 °C to 400 °C. The microstructure observation revealed that the T1 particles precipitate and grow rapidly at the temperature from 340 to 400 °C, which is due to the high nucleation rate of phase and fast solute diffusion kinetics, especially at the nose temperature. The needle-shaped θ′/θ″ and T1 particles grow up quickly as the isothermal preservation time prolonged, leading to the decrease of the supersaturated solid solution of the matrix. This will reduce the number of the age-induced precipitate and weaken the subsequent age hardening effect. Therefore, the rate of cooling should be increased in the quenching sensitivity range (340–400 °C) to inhibit the precipitation of the second phase and obtain excellent mechanical properties. While in other temperature ranges, the cooling rate should be decreased appropriately to reduce residual stress. The appropriate average cooling rate is recommended to be around 13 °C s−1 at the temperature from 340 to 400 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effects of dynamic precipitation and processing parameters on the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) behavior of 2195 Al-Cu-Li alloy, the hot deformation process was investigated comprehensively with the temperature range of 300-500°C and strain rate range of 0.001-10 s-1. An Arrhenius-type constitutive equation and DRX kinetics model were established based on the corrected stress-strain data to unveil the relationship between processing parameters, flow stress and DRX behavior. The shape of flow curves was associated with the dynamic softening mechanism and the DRX softening fraction gradually increased with the decrease of Zener-Hollomon parameter (Z). Then, the microstructure evolution was further analyzed to elucidate the DRX mechanisms at various Z values. The primary softening mechanism was dynamic recovery (DRV). However, when temperature set between 300 and 400°C, T1 and cubic phases significantly impeded DRV and promoted the occurrence of discontinuous dynamically recrystallization (DDRX) by a strong pinning effect and considerable driving force. As Z value decreased, the recrystallization mechanism transformed from DDRX into continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) attributed to the higher mobility for dislocations. Due to the reduced stored energy and the hindrance of precipitates, grain boundaries were hard to migrate, making it difficult for DDRX grains to grow continuously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization of forging process to improve the microstructure and mechanical properties of 2195 Al–Cu–Li alloy forgings is an urgent issue. In this study, a homogenized 2195 alloy ingot was subjected to multi-directional forging (MDF), annealing, and forging at 500 °C, 420 °C, and 240 °C with a 50% reduction in cross-sectional area, followed by a T8 heat treatment (involving solution, quenching, cold compression, and aging). The microstructural evolution during the process and the final mechanical properties in three orthogonal directions were examined. The results showed that the grain structures of the alloy were significantly refined after MDF by dynamic recrystallization (DRX), but the structure was thermally unstable and formed coarse grains during subsequent annealing by static recrystallization (SRX). The T8-treated samples forged at 500 °C, 420 °C, and 240 °C obtained fine and uniform grain structures by DRX, inhomogeneous grain structures by partial SRX, and uniform, equiaxed grain structures by full SRX, respectively. The average grain size of the forging increased with decreasing forging temperature because more significant SRX occurred for the forging that was deformed at lower temperatures. The grain structures had minimal influence on precipitation behavior and strength but had a significant influence on elongation. The fine and uniform grain structures improved the elongation; whereas, the inhomogeneous grain structures, which contained extremely large grains, significantly deteriorated the elongation. The uniform, equiaxed grain structures decreased the anisotropy in three orthogonal directions and maintained fine elongation even though the average grain size of the forging was the largest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research measures the epidemiological and economic impact of COVID-19 spread in the US under different mitigation scenarios, comprising of non-pharmaceutical interventions. A detailed disease model of COVID-19 is combined with a model of the US economy to estimate the direct impact of labor supply shock to each sector arising from morbidity, mortality, and lockdown, as well as the indirect impact caused by the interdependencies between sectors. During a lockdown, estimates of jobs that are workable from home in each sector are used to modify the shock to labor supply. Results show trade-offs between economic losses, and lives saved and infections averted are non-linear in compliance to social distancing and the duration of the lockdown. Sectors that are worst hit are not the labor-intensive sectors such as the Agriculture sector and the Construction sector, but the ones with high valued jobs such as the Professional Services, even after the teleworkability of jobs is accounted for. Additionally, the findings show that a low compliance to interventions can be overcome by a longer shutdown period and vice versa to arrive at similar epidemiological impact but their net effect on economic loss depends on the interplay between the marginal gains from averting infections and deaths, versus the marginal loss from having healthy workers stay at home during the shutdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, mechanistic models of the carbon content reduction, oxygen supply rate, and temperature rise were established. In actual control, the mean square deviation of carbon content is relatively large, which makes this model unable to fully meet the requirements of AOD furnace smelting low-carbon ferrochrome production accuracy when using traditional open-loop control methods. For this reason, a closed-loop control method was constructed. In this paper, an outer-loop internal model control (IMC) framework was constructed, with the carbon content as the output and the oxygen supply rate as the input. On this basis, a control channel in the IMC was established for an actual industrial smelting process. Meanwhile, the maximum oxygen supply rate and temperature change were regarded as the two constraints of the IMC–expert controller design. Finally, a new end-point carbon content control system of an argon–oxygen refining low-carbon ferrochromium alloy was formed. The simulation results showed that the system could eliminate the influence of external unmeasurable disturbances, reduce smelting time, and improve the accuracy of the smelting end-point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common illness in neurosurgical practice with a substantial recurrence rate. Previous studies found that serum lipids were associated with the risk of stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage. In the current study, we aimed to identify the relationship between serum lipids and CSDH recurrence. Methods: The medical records of 274 consecutive surgical patients with CSDH in our department were reviewed and analyzed. Patients were separated into recurrence and non-recurrence groups. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to identify serum lipids (triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL) and other potential predictors associated with CSDH recurrence, and the performance of predictors was assessed with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: Of the 274 patients included in the study, 42 (15.3%) experienced at least 1 recurrence of CSDH. Univariate analysis showed that age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, anticoagulant use, triglycerides, HDL, and midline shift were all significantly associated with CSDH recurrence. Multivariable Cox regression analysis found that only age, diabetes mellitus, midline shift, and HDL level were independent risk factors for CSDH recurrence. A higher HDL level (HR = 0.929, 95% CI 0.905–0.953) was significantly associated with a lower risk of recurrence, and ROC curve analysis revealed that the optimal HDL cut-off value as a predictor was 37.45 mg/dl. Conclusions: Low level of high-density lipoprotein is significantly associated with recurrence of chronic subdural hematoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although icosahedral quasicrystal phase (denoted as I-phase) has been verified as an outstanding reinforcing phase, the mechanical properties of quasicrystal-reinforced Mg-Zn-Y alloys fabricated by traditional casting processes are still unsatisfactory due to the serious segregation of intermetallic compounds. In this study, the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-12Zn-2Y alloy fabricated by different casting processes, including permanent mold casting, squeeze casting and rheo-squeeze casting with ultrasonic vibration, were systematically investigated and compared. The results show that massive, large-sized I-phase and Mg7Zn3 phase gather together in the permanent mold cast sample, while the squeeze casting process leads to the transformation of I-phase into fine lamellar morphology and the amount of Mg7Zn3 decreases. As to the rheo-squeeze casting process, when the ultrasonic vibration is exerted with power from 800 W to 1,600 W, the α-Mg grains are refined and spheroidized to a large extent, and the lamellar spacing of the eutectic structure is significantly reduced, accompanied by some tiny granular I-phase scattering in the α-Mg matrix. However, when the ultrasonic power continuously increases to 2,400 W, the eutectic structure becomes coarse. The best mechanical properties of the rheo-squeeze cast alloy are obtained when the ultrasonic power is 1,600 W. The microhardness, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation are 79.9 HV, 140 MPa, 236 MPa, and 3.25%, which are 44.1%, 26.1%, 25.5%, 132.1% respectively higher than the corresponding values of the squeeze casting sample, and are 47.6%, 44.3%, 69.8%, and 253.3% respectively higher than the corresponding values of the permanent mold casting sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Anatomical changes in and hormone roles of the exserted stigma were investigated, and localization and functional analysis of SlLst for the exserted stigma were performed using SLAF-BSA-seq, parental resequencing and overexpression of SlLst in tomato. Tomato accession T431 produces stigmas under relatively high temperatures (> 27 °C, the average temperature in Harbin, China, in June–August), so pollen can rarely reach the stigma properly. This allows the percentage of male sterility exceed 95%, making the use of this accession practical for hybrid seed production. To investigate the mechanism underlying the exserted stigma male sterility, the morphological changes of, anatomical changes of, and comparative endogenous hormone (IAA, ABA, GA3, ZT, SA) changes in flowers during flower development of tomato accessions DL5 and T431 were measured. The location and function of genes controlling exserted stigma sterility were analyzed using super SLAF-BSA-seq, parental resequencing, comparative genomics and the overexpression of SlLst in tomato. The results showed that an increase in cell number mainly caused stigma exsertion. IAA played a major role, while ABA had an opposite effect on stigma exertion. Moreover, 26 candidate genes related to the exserted stigma were found, located on chromosome 12. The Solyc12g027610.1 (SlLst) gene was identified as the key candidate gene by functional analysis. A subcellular localization assay revealed that SlLst is targeted to the nucleus and cell membrane. Phenotypic analysis of SlLst-overexpressing tomato showed that SlLst plays a crucial role during stigma exsertion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions of people and caused tremendous morbidity and mortality worldwide. Effective treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to SARS-CoV-2 infection is lacking, and different therapeutic strategies are under testing. Host humoral and cellular immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection is a critical determinant for patients' outcomes. SARS-CoV-2 infection results in seroconversion and production of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The antibodies may suppress viral replication through neutralization but might also participate in COVID-19 pathogenesis through a process termed antibody-dependent enhancement. Rapid progress has been made in the research of antibody response and therapy in COVID-19 patients, including characterization of the clinical features of antibody responses in different populations infected by SARS-CoV-2, treatment of COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma and intravenous immunoglobin products, isolation and characterization of a large panel of monoclonal neutralizing antibodies and early clinical testing, as well as clinical results from several COVID-19 vaccine candidates. In this review, we summarize the recent progress and discuss the implications of these findings in vaccine development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science A is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this work, we designed and studied a feasible dual-layer binary metagrating, which can realize controllable asymmetric transmission and beam splitting with nearly perfect performance. Owing to ingenious geometry configuration, only one meta-atom is required to design for the metagrating system. By simply controlling air gap between dual-layer metagratings, high-efficiency beam splitting can be well switched from asymmetric transmission to symmetric transmission. The working principle lies on gap-induced diffraction channel transition for incident waves from opposite directions. The asymmetric/symmetric transmission can work in a certain frequency band and a wide incident range. Compared with previous methods using acoustic metasurfaces, our approach has the advantages of simple design and tunable property and shows promise for applications in wavefront manipulation, noise control and one-way propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) have been tested in various clinical trials in cancer treatment but the patterns of specific T cell response to personalized TAA immunization remains to be fully understood. We report antigen-specific T cell responses in patients immunized with dendritic cell vaccines pulsed with personalized TAA panels. Tumor samples from patients were first analyzed to identify overexpressed TAAs. Autologous DCs were then transfected with pre-manufactured mRNAs encoding the full-length TAAs, overexpressed in the patients' tumors. Patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or advanced lung cancer received DC vaccines transfected with personalized TAA panels, in combination with low-dose cyclophosphamide, poly I:C, imiquimod and anti-PD-1 antibody. Antigen-specific T cell responses were measured. Safety and efficacy were evaluated. A total of ten patients were treated with DC vaccines transfected with personalized TAA panels containing 3–13 different TAAs. Among the seven patients tested for anti-TAA T cell responses, most of the TAAs induced antigen-specific CD4+ and/or CD8+ T cell responses, regardless of their expression levels in the tumor tissues. No Grade III/IV adverse events were observed among these patients. Furthermore, the treated patients were associated with favorable overall survival when compared to patients who received standard treatment in the same institution. Personalized TAA immunization-induced-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses without obvious autoimmune adverse events and was associated with favorable overall survival. These results support further studies on DC immunization with personalized TAA panels for combined immunotherapeutic regimens in solid tumor patients. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02709616 (March, 2016), NCT02808364 (June 2016), NCT02808416 (June, 2016). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysregulated prefrontal control over amygdala is engaged in the pathogenesis of psychiatric diseases including depression and anxiety disorders. Here we show that, in a rodent anxiety model induced by chronic restraint stress (CRS), the dysregulation occurs in basolateral amygdala projection neurons receiving mono-directional inputs from dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC→BLA PNs) rather than those reciprocally connected with dmPFC (dmPFC↔BLA PNs). Specifically, CRS shifts the dmPFC-driven excitatory-inhibitory balance towards excitation in the former, but not latter population. Such specificity is preferential to connections made by dmPFC, caused by enhanced presynaptic glutamate release, and highly correlated with the increased anxiety-like behavior in stressed mice. Importantly, low-frequency optogenetic stimulation of dmPFC afferents in BLA normalizes the enhanced prefrontal glutamate release onto dmPFC→BLA PNs and lastingly attenuates CRS-induced increase of anxiety-like behavior. Our findings thus reveal a target cell-based dysregulation of mPFC-to-amygdala transmission for stress-induced anxiety. Dysregulated prefrontal control over amygdala has been implicated in the etiology of stress-related psychiatric disorders. Here, the authors show that the dysregulation preferentially occurs in amygdala neurons that are mono- but not bi-directionally connected with dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visuospatial selective attention has been investigated primarily in head-fixed animals and almost exclusively in primates. Here, we develop two human-inspired, discrimination-based behavioral paradigms for studying selective visuospatial attention in freely behaving mice. In the 'spatial probability' task, we find enhanced accuracy, sensitivity, and rate of evidence accumulation at the location with higher probability of target occurrence, and opposite effects at the lower probability location. Together with video-based 3D head-tracking, these results demonstrate endogenous expectation-driven shifts of spatial attention. In the 'flanker' task, we find that a second stimulus presented with the target, but with conflicting information, causes switch-like decrements in accuracy and sensitivity as a function of its contrast, and slower evidence accumulation, demonstrating exogenous capture of spatial attention. The ability to study primate-like selective attention rigorously in unrestrained mice opens a rich avenue for research into neural circuit mechanisms underlying this critical executive function in a naturalistic setting. The authors describe behavioural tasks for the study of primate-like, endogenous and exogenous control of visuospatial selective attention in freely behaving mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the shell mould casting process has a wide range of application in many fields, the prediction of casting defects is still a problem. In the present work, a typical leaf spring bracket casting of ZG310- 570 was fabricated by shell mold casting. The finite element model and ProCAST software were utilized for simulating the filling and solidification processes of the casting; and the formation mechanism of the gas pore, and shrinkage porosity defects were analyzed. The results indicate that the gas pore and shrinkage porosity defects are formed due to air entrapment, insufficient feeding and non-sequential solidification. Subsequently, through changing the position of risers, adding a connecting channel between the risers, and setting blind risers at the U-shaped brackets, an optimized gating and feeding system was established to improve the quality of the casting. After optimization, the gas pore and shrinkage porosity defects of the leaf spring bracket casting are effectively eliminated. The experiment results with the optimized casting process are in good agreement with the numerical simulation, which verifies the validity of the finite element model in the shell mould casting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrahousehold resource allocations have important implications for policies targeted at household resources and thus household welfare. Recent literature has shown, for single headed households, that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits may be inadequate to reach a nutritious diet due to a "time deficit" gap in food production. This paper first develops a simple theoretically based time adjustment multiplier to address this benefit inadequacy for single and dual headed households. A method is then developed for estimating spousal time in food production with limited data. The estimated time deficit gap and time adjustment multiplier are smaller for dual headed households than single headed households. For single headed households, the time adjusted benefits are about $107 per household per week higher than the unadjusted benefits. For dual headed households, ignoring the spousal time contribution, the time adjusted benefits are about $73 per household per week higher than the unadjusted benefits. However, by including the spousal time contribution, this benefit shortfall is reduced by about $50. These findings demonstrate the importance of taking into account intrahousehold time allocation in evaluating the adequacy of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clonal integration can contribute to the invasiveness of amphibious plant, Alternanthera philoxeroides, but whether this differs between life-forms and whether such difference is underlying their biological control efficacy have scarcely been addressed. We aimed to determine whether clonal integration differs between life-forms and whether terrestrial form with lower biological control efficacy shows greater capacity of clonal integration in response to defoliation. In a greenhouse experiment, we subjected terrestrial and aquatic A. philoxeroides to four levels of experimental defoliation, i.e., 0 (control), 20% (mild), 50% (moderate), and 80% (heavy) leaf clipping, with the stolon connections being either severed or intact. The results showed that clonal integration greatly improved the growth and clonal propagation of both life-forms, especially under heavier defoliation. The shoot/root ratios of both life-forms were significantly increased by clonal integration under heavy defoliation. Moreover, higher level of resource sharing and greater division of labor promoted the terrestrial form to perform better than the aquatic form. These results supported our hypotheses that terrestrial A. philoxeroides can benefit from clonal integration more than aquatic form under herbivory, which may be an alternative mechanism accounted for the low efficacy of biological control of A. philoxeroides in the terrestrial habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor beta (PPARβ) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that plays critical roles in the regulation of many important physiological processes. In this study, PPARβ was cloned and characterized in yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. PPARβ cDNA was 2350 bp in length with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1530 bp, encoding 509 amino acids, a 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of 474 bp, and a 3′-UTR of 346 bp. Similar to mammals, PPARβ protein was predicted to consist of four domains, the A/B domain, DNA-binding domain (DBD), D domain, and ligand-binding domain (LBD). The DBD contained two zinc fingers with eight conserved cysteine residues. The predicted secondary structure of LBD consisted of 12 highly conserved α-helices and a small β-sheet of 4 strands. In addition, PPARβ was widely expressed across the tested tissues (liver, heart, muscle, intestine, brain, spleen, kidney, fat, ovary, and gill), but at the variable levels. Furthermore, the transcriptional responses of PPARβ by dietary Cu and Zn levels were also investigated. Dietary Cu levels showed no significant effects on PPARβ mRNA levels in the liver and intestine; in contrast, dietary Zn levels upregulated the hepatic PPARβ mRNA levels, but not in the intestine. The present study serves to increase our understanding into the function of the PPARβ gene in fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooding inducing mechanical disturbances may fragment submerged plants into pieces, suggesting that flooding and clonal fragmentation may interact and affect plant survival and performance. To test this hypothesis, clonal fragments of Vallisneria natans, each consisting of four interconnected ramets, were grown at different water depths (150, 300, and 400 cm) in a 9-week pond experiment, with stolon connections either intact, or partly severed or completely severed. Flooding (water depth ≥300 cm) severely reduced the maximum quantum yield of PSII ( F / F ), survival, and growth of V. natans. At the control water depth (150 cm), clonal fragmentation did not affect plant photosynthetic performance, survival, and total biomass, whereas it greatly increased ramet production and significantly decreased biomass per ramet, suggesting that clonal fragmentation produced a pronounced trade-off between ramet size and number. Under flooding, clonal fragmentation severely decreased the photosynthetic performance, survival, and growth of V. natans, and these effects were stronger with heavier fragmentation and at higher water depths. These results support our hypothesis that flooding and clonal fragmentation can interact and negatively affect the survival and performance of submerged plants, which may be a part of the reason for the degradation and extinction of aquatic vegetation in flood-prone areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clonal integration facilitates the growth and reproduction of clonal plants by providing the ability to share resources among ramets in heterogeneous environments. The benefits of clonal integration for plant growth may depend on a contrast in resource availability and may encounter costs, especially when a young part of the clone is growing across a border between richer and poorer conditions than the old part. We studied a clonal amphibian plant growing across a border between an aquatic and a terrestrial ecosystem, which typically differ in the availability of resources. We asked whether the young part of the clone is supporting the old part with phosphorus and whether this support has costs. We performed an experiment with Alternanthera philoxeroides where plants grow from water to a terrestrial habitat. The terrestrial habitat had either a low or high phosphorus supply, and the connection between the old and young parts of the clone was either left intact or split. We determined that the young part of the clone growing in a terrestrial habitat supported the old part with phosphorus when growing on a substrate rich in phosphorus. We have found no cost of this resource translocation; on the contrary, whole clones increased not only their accumulation of phosphorus, but also of nitrogen. Our study shows how an amphibian plant may profit from heterogeneous habitats by resource sharing in a clonal network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) removes helix-distorting DNA lesions such as UV-induced pyrimidine dimers and cisplatin-induced strand crosslinking. Our earlier studies have identified low-molecular-weight proteins homologous to the 150-kDa vitellogenin 1 (Vg1) as UV-damaged DNA-binding factors expressed in developing zebrafish ( Danio rerio). This present study explored if Vg1-like proteins also participated in NER in zebrafish. Immunoblot analysis of affinity-captured 12 h post-fertilization (hpf) zebrafish extract proteins showed a transient binding of a 30-kDa Vg1-like polypeptide to UV-damaged DNA. A transcription-based in vitro repair assay revealed a significant up-regulation of UVC or cisplatin-suppressed transcriptional activity of a marker cDNA driven by a SP6 RNA polymerase-regulated promotor after incubating the damaged plasmid with the extracts of 12 hpf embryos or 96 hpf larvae. The up-regulation of UV or cisplatin-suppressed transcription was abolished in the presence of a monoclonal anti-zebrafish Vg1 antibody. The differential sensitivity of UV-induced repair in 12 and 96 hpf zebrafish extracts to exogenous ATP suggested a development-dependent expression of Vg1-like NER factors. A T endonuclease V digestion assay showed no inhibition of the anti-Vg1 antibody on the excision of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. Our results identified the participation of Vg1-like factors in NER in developing zebrafish, and these factors may function at post-incison steps of NER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate single-photon scattering grating in a one-dimensional waveguide coupled to a cavity embedded with a driven Λ-type three-level atom. The single-photon reflection amplitude and transmission amplitude in the waveguide are obtained via a real-space approach, respectively. By spatially modulating a classical control field to drive the three-level emitter, alternating regions of high reflection and absorption as well as high transmission and absorption of the single photon are generated in both directions of the waveguide, which acts as a kind of scattering grating. The proposed scheme may have the potential for the design of chip-integrated grating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many notorious invasive plants are clonal, and clonal integration may improve their ability to cope with disturbances such as herbivory. We hypothesize that clonal integration positively affects the growth, physiology and biomass allocation of the invasive aquatic plant Eichhornia crassipes and thus improves its performance in response to defoliation. In a 7-week greenhouse experiment, we subjected E. crassipes ramets to three levels of experimental defoliation, i.e., 20 % (mild), 50 % (moderate) and 80 % (heavy) leaf clipping and an unclipped control, and the stolon connections to the mother plants were either severed or kept intact. Compared with the control, defoliation significantly decreased the growth (total biomass and ramet number), but increased the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II ( F/ F) and chlorophyll content of the target ramets. Stolon connection (clonal integration) greatly increased the growth, F/ F and contents of non-structural carbohydrates (soluble sugar and total non-structural carbohydrates) of E. crassipes, and these effects were larger under heavier defoliation. Moreover, stolon connection significantly reduced the shoot/root ratio of E. crassipes ramets, and such effects were greater under heavier leaf clipping. These results support our hypothesis that E. crassipes can benefit from clonal integration in response to defoliation, suggesting that clonal integration may enhance the invasion potential of E. crassipes and potentially reduce the efficacy of biological control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used PIC 32MX 795F512H single-chip micro-controller unit as the control core to implement the design and production of full color LED rotating display. The display of this system is based on human vision. For the eye storage characteristic generated by high-speed dynamic images, the single-chip micro-controller unit controls single-row RGB colors LED display lamp bank, carried and rotated by a rotating platform, in order to implement the full color display of dynamic scan. This rotating full color display has three characteristics: (1) 360° surround display, so that people in any position can see colorful pictures, the information spreading efficiency is increased greatly; (2) as many as 16,777,216 colors can be displayed by using a small amount of control chips and RGB LED with dynamic scanning control technique, so as to display full color pictures; (3) the image acquisition and real-time transmission technology of this work can use camera to shoot various objects or persons. The image display codes are transmitted instantly to the single-chip micro-controller unit of console display by the self-developed image acquisition program and wireless transmission packet technology. The design of the real-time full color LED rotating display for pictures is completed by video scan technique. The test result of the self-made rotating machine shows that any picture can be displayed on the display machine completely, and the performance is good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Aberrant expression of miRNAs has been demonstrated to contribute to human carcinogenesis. This study was aimed at profiling differentially expressed miRNAs in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues of spinal chordoma and testing the potential for using altered expression of miRNAs as prognostic markers for spinal chordoma patients. Methods: A miRNA array was used to profile differentially expressed miRNAs in spinal chordoma and nucleus pulposus tissues. Four of these differentially expressed miRNAs was then validated in spinal chordoma and control patients using quantitative RT-PCR. Bioinformatical analysis identified potential GO terms and signaling pathways affected by these microRNAs. Altered miR-1237-3p expression was then found to be associated with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of spinal chordoma patients. Results: The miRNA arrays identified 29 differentially expressed miRNAs in spinal chordoma tissues, four of which were verified by qRT-PCR in 42 spinal chordomas and 14 control tissues. Bioinformatical analysis revealed that the potential target genes of these miRNAs were mainly involved in gene transcription, cell junction proteins, and gene pathways in cancer and endocytosis. Reduced miR-1237-3p expression was associated with tumor invasion and worse recurrence-free survival of spinal chordoma patients ( χ = 16.217, p = 0.000, log-rank test). Multivariate analyses showed that miR-1237-3p expression was an independent prognostic factor for patients with spinal chordoma (HR = 0.001, 95 % CI 0.000-0.136, p = 0.005). Conclusion: The data from the current study identified a total of 29 differentially expressed miRNAs in chordoma tissues and reduced miR-1237-3p expression was associated with chordoma invasion and worse recurrence-free survival of the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1) expression has been recognized in a substantial number of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Some studies indicated the association of diagnosed WT1 higher expression (WT1) and poor outcome in the AML patients, while other studies had different opinions. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the controversial prognostic significance of diagnosed WT1 in AML. Eligible studies were identified from several databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library (up to September 2014). The primary end point was overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) was chosen as secondary end point. If possible, we would pool estimate effects (hazard ratio [HR] with 95 % confidence interval [CI]) of outcomes in both fixed and random effects models. Eleven studies, covering 1497 AML patients, were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled HRs indicated that diagnosed WT1 had a poor impact on the survival of AML patients (HR for OS, 1.37; HR for DFS, 1.38). Furthermore, diagnosed WT1 appeared to be an adverse prognostic indicator in adult AML (HR for OS, 1.43; HR for DFS, 1.41) and non-promyelocytic AML (non-M3 AML) (HR for OS, 1.46; HR for DFS, 1.41). Diagnosed WT1 had slightly but significantly poor prognostic impact on OS and DFS of patients with AML in total population and some specific subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interface imperfection can significantly affect the mechanical properties and failure mechanisms as well as the strength and toughness of nanocomposites. The elastic behavior of a screw dislocation in nanoscale coating with imperfect interface is studied in the three-phase composite cylinder model. The interface between inner nanoinhomogeneity and intermediate coating is assumed as perfectly bonded. The bonding between intermediate coating and outer matrix is considered to be imperfect with the assumption that interface imperfection is uniform, and a linear spring model is adopted to describe the weakness of imperfect interface. The explicit expression for image force acting on dislocation is obtained by means of a complex variable method. The analytic results indicate that inner interface effect and outer interface imperfection, simultaneously taken into account, would influence greatly image force, equilibrium position and stability of dislocation, and various critical parameters that would change dislocation stability. The weaker interface is a very strong trap for glide dislocation and, thus, a more effective barrier for slip transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T cell functional exhaustion during chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may contribute to the failed viral clearance; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that jumonji domain-containing protein 6 (JMJD6) is a potential regulator of T cell proliferation during chronic HBV infection. The expression of JMJD6 was reduced in T lymphocytes in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, and this reduction in JMJD6 expression was associated with impaired T cell proliferation. Moreover, silencing JMJD6 expression in primary human T cells impaired T cell proliferation. We found that JMJD6 promotes T cell proliferation by suppressing the mRNA expression of CDKN3. Furthermore, we have identified platelet derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) as a regulator of JMJD6 expression. PDGF-BB downregulates JMJD6 expression and inhibits the proliferation of human primary T cells. Importantly, the expression levels of JMJD6 and PDGF-BB in lymphocytes from CHB patients were correlated with the degree of liver damage and the outcome of chronic HBV infection treatment. Our results demonstrate that PDGF-BB and JMJD6 regulate T cell function during chronic HBV infection and may provide insights for the treatment strategies for CHB patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, a 25-years-old pregnant woman presented with thromocytosis for 4 months, blood counts showed platelets 701 × 10/L. Bone marrow examination disclosed a feature of hypercellular marrow in erythrocytic,granulocytic and megakaryocytic series. Cytogenetic analysis showed t(9;22)(q34;q11) in 100 % of metaphase. The percentage of BCR-ABL-positive FISH signals was 37 % in the peripheral blood. Molecular analysis showed the presence of the JAK2V617F mutation and BCR-ABL mRNA b3a2 transcript. A diagnosis of concomitant presence of essential thrombocythemia and chronic myelocytic leukemia was made. Based on this case and literatures reported before, it might be necessary to detect JAK2-V617F mutation and BCR-ABL fusion gene concomitantly in myeloproliferative neoplasms patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since ancient times, floods occurred frequently in Huaihe River with significant casualties and economic losses. In developing measures for disaster prevention or emergency response for disaster relief, the study of social vulnerability to floods in Huaihe River Basin should be strengthened. Based on the latest socioeconomic data, the index system of social vulnerability to floods was constructed from three dimensions: population, economy, and flood prevention. Sensitive indexes were identified from the original indexes by principal component analysis, and the social vulnerability index for floods was calculated for Huaihe River Basin. The results described the characteristics of the spatial distribution. It also demonstrated that vulnerability manifests itself as a regional phenomenon, with significant changes from city to city across the Huaihe River Basin. Understanding the impacts of changes in vulnerability was crucial in developing measures to prevent floods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the correlation between chimerism status and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Chimerism of peripheral blood of 124 patients was monitored at regular intervals post-transplant. The chimerism of 124 post-transplant cases of CD3T lymphocytes, 107 cases of CD3CD56CD16NK lymphocytes, 49 cases of CD15 granulocytes, and 27 cases of CD19B lymphocytes sorted by fluorescence-activated cell sorter were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction amplification of short tandem repeats. Differences were found in the time between establishment of full donor T-cell chimerism and the occurrence of aGVHD ( P = 0.035, two related samples test). Patients with ≥69 % donor chimerism on day +7 in T-cells had higher rates of aGVHD. This study may provide a rational basis for treatment with adoptive immunotherapy at an earlier time, such as day 7 after SCT, than at present to prevent aGVHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]