Search

Voluminous Neoproterozoic intermediate to felsic rocks intruded the Neoarchean Douling Complex in the South Qinling Belt of Central China, which may provide new constraints on the controversial issue about the nature of the continental margin of the Yangtze Block during the Neoproterozoic. This study presents zircon U–Pb geochronology, whole‐rock geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotope of the Douling dioritic–granodioritic–granitic intrusion, aiming to clarify its petrogenesis and tectonic significance. The dioritic–granodioritic–granitic rocks yield similar zircon U–Pb ages ranging from 735 to 705 Ma. The enrichment of light rare earth elements (LREEs) and large‐ion lithophile elements (LILEs), and depletion of high‐ field‐strength elements (HFSEs) (e.g., Nb, Ta) are typical features of arc magmatic rocks. The whole‐rock Sr–Nd isotopic compositions show initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios ranging from 0.7034 to 0.7059, and εNd(t) values from −7.3 to −1.4. Elemental and isotopic data suggest that the Neoproterozoic dioritic–granodioritic–granitic rocks were co‐genetic and were generated by partial melting of lower crust materials combined with mantle‐derived melts. The granites were the derivative product of dioritic rocks by fractional crystallization of amphibolite, plagioclase, mica and zircon. Combined with literature data, we infer a subduction‐related setting for the northern margin of the Yangtze Block during the Middle Neoproterozoic, and a tectonic model of accretion along an Andean‐type active continental margin after the collision of the Douling micro‐block with the northern Yangtze Block is further proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary cilia are distributed extensively within the corneal epithelium and endothelium. However, the presence of cilia in the corneal stroma and the dynamic changes and roles of endothelial and stromal cilia in corneal homeostasis remain largely unknown. Here, we present compelling evidence for the presence of primary cilia in the corneal stroma, both in vivo and in vitro. We also demonstrate dynamic changes of both endothelial and stromal cilia during corneal development. In addition, our data show that cryoinjury triggers dramatic cilium formation in the corneal endothelium and stroma. Furthermore, depletion of cilia in mutant mice lacking intraflagellar transport protein 88 compromises the corneal endothelial capacity to establish the effective tissue barrier, leading to an upregulation of α‐smooth muscle actin within the corneal stroma in response to cryoinjury. These observations underscore the essential involvement of corneal endothelial and stromal cilia in maintaining corneal homeostasis and provide an innovative strategy for the treatment of corneal injuries and diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Surgery is a carbon‐heavy activity and creates a high volume of waste. Surgical teams around the world want to deliver more environmentally sustainable surgery but are unsure what to do and how to create change. There are many interventions available, but resources and time are limited. Capital investment into healthcare and engagement of senior management are challenging. However, frontline teams can change behaviours and drive wider change. Patients have a voice here too, as they would like to ensure their surgery does not harm their local community but are concerned about the effects on them when changes are made. Environmentally sustainable surgery is at the start of its journey. Surgeons need to rapidly upskill their generic knowledge base, identify which measures they can implement locally and take part in national research programmes. Surgical teams in the NHS have the chance to create a world‐leading programme that can bring change to hospitals around the world. This article provides an overview of how surgeons see the surgical team being involved in environmentally sustainable surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the isomerization transition of cluster ConMoS (n = 1–5), we employ density functional theory and transition state theory methods in this study. The cluster is optimized at the B3LYP/def2tzvp quantum chemical level. The results reveal eight isomerization reactions for the clusters ConMoS (n = 3, 5). Analyzing the activation energies shows a greater propensity for the isomerization transformation in the forward reaction compared to the reverse reaction. At room temperature, six isomerization transformation processes exhibit rapid conversion to the product configurations. Investigation of the equilibrium constants and application of the Arrhenius formula demonstrate that the cluster isomerization reactions are primarily driven by the forward reactions, with four reactions displaying efficient reactant to product conversion rates. Furthermore, there exists a consistent relationship between the structural complexity of the cluster and the change in entropy value. This study provides theoretical insights into reaction rates and optimization of reaction pathways, facilitating mutual validation and development between experimental and theoretical approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has led to an increasing trend in the intensity of global extreme weather events, including chilling. Breeding cultivars with high cold tolerance could be an important pathway to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. For rice, few studies have been focusing on the responses of different cold‐tolerance cultivars on chilling stress. In this study, we selected four japonica rice cultivars and conducted a chilling treatment experiment (with three chilling temperatures and three chilling durations) at the booting and flowering stages in 2020 and 2021 in Northeast China. The results showed that chilling treatment at the booting stage affected the biomass allocation and yield traits more than the chilling treatment at the flowering stage did. Overall, the chilling treatment affected the cold‐sensitive cultivars more than the cold‐tolerant cultivars. Among all the study yield traits, chilling treatment affected spikelet fertility the most, followed by the number of grains per panicle. For every 10°C day increase in CDD at the booting (flowering) stage, the grain yield per plant and spikelet fertility decreased by 4.8–12.8% and 3.6–10.8% (2.1–5.3% and 2.2–4.9%), respectively. Even with the intense chilling treatment, the cold‐tolerant cultivars had relatively high number of effective spikes per plant, grain weight, and stable spikelet fertility, hence they maintained relatively high grain yield. Therefore, it is important to factor in the cold tolerance of the cultivars when assessing the chilling effects on biomass allocation and yield traits for rice. In order to combat the negative effects of extremely low temperature at the reproductive stage on rice grain yield, the future breeding technology could focus on improving the spikelet fertility, grain filling size, and number of spikes per plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Under the background of global warming, the intensity and frequency of extreme meteorological events in the maize growing season in northeast China are increasing. In order to clarify the occurrence characteristics of extreme meteorological events in northeast China, this study focused on three extreme agrometeorological events, i.e., high temperatures, drought, and the compound events of high‐temperature and drought during the maize growing season (May–September), impacting maize production. Results: Based on historical (1981–2017) and future (2021–2060) climate data, we analyzed the spatial‐temporal patterns of these three events with different intensities in northeast China. The results indicated that slight high‐temperatures and moderate and severe droughts occurred more frequently in the study area during the historical period. The frequency of the different grades of the compound events of high‐temperature and drought will exhibit an increasing trend in the future, as will the frequency of the compound events of high‐temperature and drought. This is particularly evident in the northwest of the study area. Conclusion: The compound events of high‐temperature and drought mainly occurred in late July and early August, encompassing the flowering stage of maize varieties. It is important to identify the area and time of major extreme weather events to implement the necessary preventive measures. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a novel AlGaN‐based multiple quantum well (MQW) deep UV light‐emitting diode (DUV‐LED) structure with two parts linearly graded barriers is presented. The simulation result shows that at a current of 50 mA, the light output power of the DUV‐LED with two parts linearly graded barrier MQWs has significant improvement as compared to stationary barriers. The electroluminescence spectrum and radiative recombination rate of novel DUV‐LEDs are also larger more than twice that of the conventional QW structure. The reason is that the injection efficiency of holes is increased which helps improve the hole and electron concentration in the active area. Meanwhile, the electric field is also decreased by using two parts linearly graded quantum barriers, and according to reduce the electric field the quantum‐confined Stark effect and the bend of the energy band get relieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Northeast China, the frequency and intensity of chilling events has been increasing continuously, which places regional rice production at an increasing risk for yield loss. Previous studies have shown that continuous chilling at the tillering, booting and flowering stages could reduce rice grain yield. However, the effects of intermittent chilling at different growth stages on rice yield have rarely been reported. In this study, we conducted a temperature‐controlled experiment on rice plants at the tillering, booting and flowering stages, with both continuous and intermittent chilling treatments at two chilling temperatures and four chilling durations. The results showed that rice grain yield was most affected by chilling at the booting stage, followed by chilling at the flowering stage and least affected by chilling at the tillering stage. For per 1 day increase in chilling duration, the continuous (intermittent) chilling treatment at T1 (11°C/12°C/12°C) at the tillering, booting and flowering stages decreased the grain yield per plant by 1.0%, 6.0% and 2.9% (0.9%, 2.7% and 1.6%), respectively. For per 10°C·day increase in cooling degree days, the continuous (intermittent) chilling treatment at the booting stage decreased the grain yield per plant, spikelet fertility, grain number per spike and thousand grain weight by 10.7%, 7.9%, 5.4% and 1.6% (5.6%, 1.5%, 4.4% and 1.2%), respectively. While the continuous (intermittent) chilling treatment at the flowering stage decreased the grain yield per plant and spikelet fertility by 4.9% and 3.9% (2.8% and 3.2%), respectively. Our study is complementary to the current knowledge gap concerning the mechanism of chilling‐induced yield losses for rice. In particular, the results of this study could be used to (a) modify the chilling effects algorithms in rice models to improve the simulation accuracy in rice yields and (b) target the genetic features to breed new rice varieties with greater cold tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serious electron leakage and poor transport of hole injection layers in deep‐ultraviolet (DUV) light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) lead to an imbalance between the hole and electron currents, which reduces the device's performance. Herein, a new DUV LED structure is designed. The aluminum composition of the p‐type electron‐blocking layer (p‐EBL) gradually decreases from 0.95 to 0.75 along the growth direction, replacing the traditional bulk p‐EBL. When the injection current is 100 mA, the optical power of this structure is about 32% higher than that of the traditional structure. In addition, when the p‐EBL adopts the opposite gradient (the Al composition gradually increases from 0.75 to 0.95), the device performance suddenly drops dramatically. The related devices are simulated by Silvaco TCAD software. The results show that the performance outputs of the two opposite aluminum gradient growth modes are completely opposite. The proposed p‐EBL with a gradual step‐down Al composition along the growth direction helps to improve the efficiency of hole injection into multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and reduce the level of electron leakage. This work provides an effective solution for increasing the light output power of high‐performance DUV LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical mechanism of improving the photoelectric performance of InGaN/AlGaN‐based near UV light‐emitting diode (LED) with convex quantum barrier and staggered quantum well (QW) is studied by numerical simulation. The simulation results indicate that the voltage–current characteristics of the LED structure with convex quantum barrier and staggered QW are effectively improved compared with the traditional multiple quantum well (MQW) structure, and its electroluminescence (EL) intensity and light output power are significantly improved. The main physical mechanisms are: on the one hand, the convex quantum barrier with a lower average Al component can reduce the polarization electric field at the interface between the quantum barrier and QW as well as the effective potential barrier of holes, improve the spatial separation of electron and hole wave functions, promote the injection efficiency of carriers, and improve the uniformity of carrier distribution in the MQWs active region; On the other hand, staggered QWs can provide stronger carrier confinement effect and further increase the overlap of electron and hole wave functions, so as to improve the carrier radiative recombination efficiency; In a word, this work provides a valuable reference for obtaining high‐performance near‐ultraviolet LED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noninvasive imaging of cardiac fibrosis is important for early diagnosis and intervention in chronic heart diseases. Here, we investigated whether noninvasive, contrast agent‐free MRI T2‐mapping can quantify myocardial fibrosis in preclinical models of aging and pressure overload. Myocardial fibrosis and remodeling were analyzed in two animal models: (i) aging (15‐month‐old male CF‐1 mice vs. young 6‐ to 8‐week‐old mice), and (ii) pressure overload (PO; by transverse aortic constriction in 4‐ to 5‐month‐old male C57BL/6 mice vs. sham‐operated for 14 days). In vivo T2‐mapping was performed by acquiring data during the isovolumic and early diastolic phases, with a modified respiratory and ECG‐triggered multiecho TurboRARE sequence on a 7‐T MRI. Cine MRI provided cardiac morphology and function. A quantitative segmentation method was developed to analyze the in vivo T2‐maps of hearts at midventricle, apex, and basal regions. The cardiac fibrosis area was analyzed ex vivo by picro sirius red (PSR) staining. Both aged and pressure‐overloaded hearts developed significant myocardial contractile dysfunction, cardiac hypertrophy, and interstitial fibrosis. The aged mice had two phenotypes, fibrotic and mild‐fibrotic. Notably, the aged fibrotic subgroup and the PO mice showed a marked decrease in T2 relaxation times (25.3 ± 0.6 in aged vs. 29.9 ± 0.7 ms in young mice, p = 0.002; and 24.3 ± 1.7 in PO vs. 28.7 ± 0.7 ms in shams, p = 0.05). However, no significant difference in T2 was detected between the aged mild‐fibrotic subgroup and the young mice. Accordingly, an inverse correlation between myocardial fibrosis percentage (FP) and T2 relaxation time was derived (R2 = 0.98): T2 (ms) = 30.45 – 1.05 × FP. Thus, these results demonstrate a statistical agreement between T2‐map–quantified fibrosis and PSR staining in two different clinically relevant animal models. In conclusion, T2‐mapping MRI is a promising noninvasive contrast agent‐free quantitative technique to characterize myocardial fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soy contains many bioactive phytochemicals, such as isoflavones, which have the effect of preventing many cancers. Some studies have shown the beneficial effect of soy‐based food and isoflavone intake on gastric cancer (GC), while others claimed no effect. Therefore, whether the beneficial effect of soy‐based food is related to its fermentation or whether its protective effect comes from isoflavones still remains inconclusive. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between total soybean, fermented soybean, non‐fermented soybean and isoflavone intake, and the risk of GC. Ten cohort studies and 21 case–control studies involving 916 354 participants were included. The association between soy‐based food and isoflavone intake and the risk of GC was calculated with the pooled relative risks (RRs) for the highest versus lowest intake categories. The results showed that isoflavone intake might be a protective factor to GC, but the result was not statistically significant (RR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.79–1.07). However, total soybean intake could significantly decrease the risk of GC by 36% (RR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.51–0.80), which might be credited to non‐fermented soybean products (RR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.71–0.87). In contrast, high intake of fermented soybean products could increase the risk of GC (RR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.02–1.38). High intake of total soybean and non‐fermented soybean products could reduce the risk of GC, and high intake of fermented soybean products could increase the risk, which indicated that the beneficial effect of soy‐based food might be related to its non‐fermentation. However, high intake of isoflavones may not be associated with the incidence of GC. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape features (e.g., mountains and rivers) can act as barriers to dispersal and gene flow, and therefore impede population connectivity, increasing genetic differentiation between populations. The concave‐eared torrent frog (Odorrana tormota) is a rare, stream‐associated species in eastern China. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure and population demography of this narrowly distributed frog based on mitochondrial Cyt b gene and seven nuclear microsatellite loci. As a result, we found that the rare frog still preserved a relatively high level of genetic diversity compared to some other amphibia. Population structure analyses distinctly identified three or four tentative genetic clusters for the species in the study area. Additionally, by fine‐scale spatial autocorrelation analysis, significant positive genetic structure was uncovered in the shortest distance classes (0–5 km, 5–10 km). Demographic analyses revealed a population expansion (0.075–0.017 Mya) and 15 times population decline (c. 9000 years ago). In conclusion, we supposed that stable montane environments and associated historical population expansion might provide an opportunity for the species to harbor high genetic diversity. The relatively recent population decline might be correlated with climate change as well as genetic differentiation among populations. In addition, our results showed that, on a small landscape scale, dispersal is closely linked to geographic distance and the presence of river systems may not substantially affect the genetic structure for the narrowly distributed O. tormota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasiperiodic radio frequency interference (RFI), such as those generated by telecommunication and active radar systems, is commonly encountered in radio astronomy observations. Such RFI‐contaminated signals contain hidden periodicities due to cyclic features involved in their formation (e.g., carrier frequencies, periodic keying of the amplitude, and baud rates). RFI signal characterization and its subsequent excision based on the well‐known cyclic spectrum analysis have been previously demonstrated; however, the high complexity of the algorithm and the computational cost of its implementation have limited its utility in radio astronomy, rendering less sophisticated solutions. To overcome this challenge, we present a novel method for RFI detection and mitigation based on efficient estimation of the cyclic spectrum by compressive statistical sensing (CSS) of sub‐Nyquist data. CSS performs second‐order statistical estimation such as cyclic spectrum using a reduced number of input samples, thereby enabling accelerated performance. To validate the feasibility of the proposed method, we conduct experiments with simulated data and assess the detection and mitigation results under different parameter settings, for example, interference‐to‐noise ratio, additional RFI sources, frequency resolution, and input data size. We demonstrate the real performance of the method by analyzing radio astronomy data (∼1.3 GHz) acquired with the L‐wide band receiver at the Arecibo Observatory, which is typically corrupted by active air surveillance radars located nearby. Our CSS‐based solution enables robust and efficient detection of the RFI frequency bands present in the L‐band data, and subsequent excision by blanking is also demonstrated. Key Points: We present a novel method for RFI detection and mitigation based on cyclic spectrum analysis and compressive statistical sensingExperiments with synthetic radar‐based signals have been conducted, and accurate detection is achievedArecibo Observatory L‐band data contaminated with impulsive narrowband RFI from surrounding active radars are also used to demonstrate technique feasibility [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The health influence of air pollution has been an international public health concern. Increasing evidence has suggested that air pollution has been associated with decreased sperm quality. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still not fully elucidated. We aimed to verify whether gasoline exhaust leads to reproductive impairment by injuring spermatogonial stem cells and explore its underlying molecular mechanism. Twenty male Sprague‐Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: the exposure group (n = 10) and the control group (n = 10). After 6‐month exposure, the sperm count and morphology were determined. The histological changes in the seminiferous tubules were examined by HE staining. The expression of α6‐integrin and β1‐integrin was assessed with Quantitative RT‐PCR, Western blot and Immunohistochemical staining. Compared with control group, male rats exposed to gasoline exhaust showed significantly reduced sperm count, increased sperm abnormality rate and the total number of spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, secondary spermatocytes, spermatids were decreased. (all p < .01). The expression levels of α6‐integrin and β1‐integrin in the exposure group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all p < .01). Our study showed that exposure to gasoline exhaust caused impairment to spermatogonial stem cells through downregulating α6‐integrin and β1‐integrin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are growth‐promoting plant hormones that play a crucial role in biotic stress responses. Here, we found that BR treatment increased nitric oxide (NO) accumulation, and a significant reduction of virus accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, the plants pre‐treated with NO scavenger [2‐(4‐carboxyphenyl)‐4,4,5,5‐tetramethyl‐imidazoline‐1‐1‐oxyl‐3‐oxide (PTIO)] or nitrate reductase (NR) inhibitor (tungstate) hardly had any NO generation and appeared to have the highest viral replication and suffer more damages. Furthermore, the antioxidant system and photosystem parameters were up‐regulated in brassinolide (BL)‐treated plants but down regulated in PTIO‐ or tungstate‐treated plants, suggesting NO may be involved in BRs‐induced virus resistance in Arabidopsis. Further evidence showed that NIA1 pathway was responsible for BR‐induced NO accumulation in Arabidopsis. These results indicated that NO participated in the BRs‐induced systemic resistance in Arabidopsis. As BL treatment could not increase NO levels in nia1 plants in comparison to nia2 plants. And nia1 mutant exhibited decreased virus resistance relative to Col‐0 or nia2 plants after BL treatment. Taken together, our study addressed that NIA1‐mediated NO biosynthesis is involved in BRs‐mediated virus resistance in A. thaliana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Economist periodical has editorialized that the Chinese Communist Party had stepped backwards and also called the socialist market economy an oxymoron. Topics discussed include decrease in the gross domestic product (GDP) during Presidency of former Chinese President Deng Xiaoping; plans of Chinese President Xi Jinping to project basic realization of socialist modernization by 2035; and improvements in health, education, science sectors.

Rubia L. is the type genus of the coffee family Rubiaceae and the third largest genus in the tribe Rubieae, comprising ca. 80 species restricted to the Old World. China is an important diversity center for Rubia, where approximately half of its species occur. However, its internal phylogenetic relationships are still poorly understood. The objective of the present study is to contribute to the phylogenetic relationships within Rubia, using the nuclear internal transcribed spacer and six plastid markers and focusing on species from China. Twenty-seven species of Rubia were sampled to infer their phylogeny using Maximum parsimony, Maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses. The monophyly of Rubia is supported, provided that R. rezniczenkoana Litv. is excluded from Rubia and transferred to Galium as a new combination: G. rezniczenkoanum (Litv.) L. E Yang & Z. L. Nie. Within Rubia, two clades are clearly supported. They correspond to the traditional sect. Rubia s.l. (A) and sect. Oligoneura Pojark. (B), and are morphologically mainly separable by their pinnate (A) versus palmate (B) leaf venation. Plesiomorphic features are the pinnate leaf veining in sect. Rubia s.l. and the occurrence of some species with opposite leaves and true stipules in sect. Oligoneura. In sect. Oligoneura one can assume an evolution from species with opposite leaves and true stipules (as in the R. siamensis Craib group) to those with whorls of two leaves and two leaf-like stipules (as in ser. Chinenses and the R. mandersii Collett & Hemsl. group) and finally with whorls of 6 or even more elements (as in ser. Cordifoliae). The correlation between clades recognized by DNA analyses and available differential morphological features is partly only loose, particularly in the group of R. cordifolia with 2×, 4×, and 6× cytotypes. This may be due to rapid evolutionary divergence and/or hybridization and allopolyploidy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several intraoperative ventilation strategies are available for obese patients. However, the same ventilation interventions have exhibited different effects on PaO2/ FIO2 concerning obese patients in different trials, and the issue remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted a network meta-analysis to identify the optimal mechanical ventilation strategy. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials ( CENTRAL) in the Cochrane Library, Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL and Web of Science for studies published up to June 2014, and the PaO2/ FIO2 in obese patients given different mechanical ventilation strategies was assessed. We assessed the studies for eligibility and extracted data and then pooled the data and used a Bayesian fixed-effect model to combine direct comparisons with indirect evidence. Eligible studies evaluated different ventilation strategies for obese patients and reported the intraoperative PaO2/ FIO2 ratio, atelectasis and pulmonary compliance. Thirteen randomized controlled trials were included for network meta-analysis, including 476 patients who received 1 of 12 ventilation strategies. Volume-controlled ventilation with higher PEEP plus single recruitment manoeuvres ( VCV + higher PEEP + single RM) was associated with the highest PaO2/ FiO2 ratio, improving intraoperative pulmonary compliance and reducing the incidence of intraoperative atelectasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Acne reflects hormone imbalance and is a key component of several systemic diseases. We hypothesized that diagnosis of acne as a teenager might predict subsequent risk of hormone-related cancers. METHODS We followed 99,128 female nurses in the Nurses' Health Study II cohort for 20 years (1989-2009) and used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) of 8 specific cancers (breast, thyroid, colorectal, ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers, melanoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma) for women with a history of severe teenage acne. RESULTS After thoroughly adjusting for the previously known risk factors for each cancer, we found that among women with a history of severe teenage acne, the relative risk increased, with a multivariable-adjusted HR of 1.44 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-2.01) for melanoma. We replicated this association in an independent melanoma case-control study of 930 cases and 1026 controls (multivariable-adjusted odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.03-1.56). We also found that in both studies the individuals with teenage acne were more likely to have moles (52.7% vs 50.1%, P < .001 in the cohort study; and 55.2% vs 45.1%, P = .004 in the case-control study). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that a history of teenage acne might be a novel risk factor for melanoma independent from the known factors, which supports a need for continued investigation of these relationships. Cancer 2015;121:1681-1687. © 2015 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytokines such as Interleukin (IL)−12p70 ('IL-12') and IL-23 can influence tumor progression. We tested the hypothesis that blood levels of IL-12p40, the common subunit of both cytokines, are associated with melanoma progression. Blood from 2,048 white melanoma patients were collected at a single institution between March 1998 and March 2011. Plasma levels of IL-12p40 were determined for 573 patients (discovery), 249 patients (Validation 1) and 244 patients (Validation 2). Per 10-unit change of IL-12p40 level was used to investigate associations with melanoma patient outcome among all patients or among patients with early or advanced stage. Among stage I/II melanoma patients in the pooled data set, after adjustment for sex, age, stage and blood draw time from diagnosis, elevated IL-12p40 was associated with melanoma recurrence [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.04 per 10-unit increase in IL-12p40, 95% CI 1.02-1.06, p = 8.48 × 10−5]; Elevated IL-12p40 was also associated with a poorer melanoma specific survival (HR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.03-1.09, p = 3.35 × 10−5) and overall survival (HR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.08, p = 8.78×10−7) in multivariate analysis. Among stage III/IV melanoma patients in the pooled data set, no significant association was detected between elevated IL-12p40 and overall survival, or with melanoma specific survival, with or without adjustment for the above covariates. Early stage melanoma patients with elevated IL-12p40 levels are more likely to develop disease recurrence and have a poorer survival. Further investigation with a larger sample size will be needed to determine the role of IL-12p40 in advanced stage melanoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Breath analysis of propofol is a potential noninvasive method for approximating the plasma propofol concentration. There have been various reported techniques for measuring the exhaled propofol concentration at steady state; however, the propofol concentration undergoes marked changes during clinical anesthesia. Therefore, this study investigated the use of membrane inlet-ion mobility spectrometry ( MI- IMS) to monitor exhaled propofol discontinuously and continuously during propofol anesthesia. Methods The study included 19 patients of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II. In experiment I (discontinuous study), breath and blood samples were collected discontinuously, with stable target propofol concentrations of 2.8 μg/ml, 3.2 μg/ml, 3.5 μg/ml, and 3.8 μg/ml. In experiment II (continuous study), propofol concentration was maintained at 3.5 μg/ml after induction, and exhaled breath was collected continuously every 3 min during propofol infusion. Relationships of the exhaled propofol concentration with the plasma propofol concentration, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography and the continuously measured bispectral ( BIS) index were investigated. Results Comparison of the exhaled and plasma propofol concentrations revealed a bias ± precision of 2.1% ± 14.6% (95% limits of agreement: − 26.5-30.7%) in experiment I and − 10.4% ± 13.2 (− 36.3-15.4%) in experiment II. In both experiments, exhaled propofol concentrations measured by MI- IMS were consistent with, the propofol effect represented by the BIS index. Conclusions MI- IMS may be a suitable method to predict plasma propofol concentration online during propofol anesthesia. Monitoring exhaled propofol may improve the safety of propofol anesthesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutualism between plants and animals demonstrates that grazing has positive impacts on plant growth. Animal saliva plays an important role in plant-herbivore interactions, and various salivary components work for the beneficial relationship. This study was performed to compare responses of Leymus chinensis ( Trin.) Tzvelev. ( Poaceae) to sheep saliva and two salivary components. One randomized block designed experiment was conducted in 2007 with six treatments: control, clipping with water, with saliva, with epidermal growth factor ( EGF), with thiamine and with mixture of EGF and thiamine. There were significant differences between treatments on biomass, buds and tillers of L. chinensis. Compared with control plants, there was no compensatory response in clipped plants due to the limited number of available meristems in late-growing season. Plants in clipping with saliva had more biomass and buds than those in clipping with water or salivary components. Clipping with salivary components had no stimulatory effects on plant growth, relative to clipping with water. The results showed that herbivore saliva had greater impacts than salivary components, and there was no additive effect between salivary components on plant growth. This study demonstrated the complexity in saliva components, which offer saliva with the capacity to play an important role in plant-herbivore interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low back pain is one of commonest problems prompting a visit to the family physician. Up to 5% of patients with chronic low back pain in the primary care setting are diagnosed as having spondyloarthritis, which includes the prototype disease ankylosing spondylitis. Making a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis is often delayed for years, leading to significant pain, impairment of quality of life, disability and productivity loss. A recent breakthrough in the treatment of spondyloarthritis is the anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha biologics, which lead to rapid relief of pain and inflammation, and improvement in all clinical parameters of the disease. Patients with early spondyloarthritis often respond better than those with late established disease. With proper recognition of inflammatory back pain, and the use of magnetic resonance imaging, spondyloarthritis can now be diagnosed much earlier before features are evident on plain radiographs. Referral to the rheumatologist based on onset of back pain (> 3 months) before the age of 45 years, and an inflammatory nature of the pain, or the presence of human leukocyte antigen-B27, or sacroiliitis by imaging, have been confirmed in multi-center international studies to be a pragmatic approach to enable early diagnosis of spondyloarthritis. This referral strategy has recently been adopted by the Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology for primary care physicians and non-rheumatology specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, several studies have investigated the association between a newly reported rare functional single nucleotide polymorphism ( SNP) in TP53 (rs78378222) and cancer risk, but generated inconsistent findings. The present study further investigated this association with risk of melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck ( SCCHN) and lung cancer. Using volunteers of non-Hispanic Whites recruited for three large case-control studies, we genotyped the TP53 rs78378222 SNP in 1329 patients with melanoma, 1096 with SCCHN, 1013 with lung cancer and 3000 cancer-free controls. Overall, we did not observe any variant homozygotes in this study population, nor significant associations between the TP53 rs78378222 AC genotype or C allele and risk for melanoma ( P = 0.680 and 0.682 respectively) and lung cancer ( P = 0.379 and 0.382 respectively), but a protection against SCCHN ( P = 0.008 and 0.008 respectively), compared with the AA genotype or A allele. An additional meta-analysis including 19,423 cancer patients and 54,050 controls did not support such a risk association either. Our studies did not provide statistical evidence of an association between this rare TP53 variant and increased risk of melanoma, nor of lung cancer, but a possible protection against SCCHN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To mine possibly hidden causal single-nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs) of melanoma, we investigated the association of SNPs in 76 M/G1 transition genes with melanoma risk using our published genome-wide association study ( GWAS) data set with 1804 melanoma cases and 1026 cancer-free controls. We found multiple SNPs with P < 0.01 and performed validation studies for 18 putative functional SNPs in PSMB9 in two other GWAS data sets. Two SNPs (rs1351383 and rs2127675) were associated with melanoma risk in the GenoMEL data set (P = 0.013 and 0.004, respectively), but failed in validation using the Australian data set. Genotype-phenotype analysis revealed these two SNPs were significantly correlated with mRNA expression level of PSMB9. Further experiments revealed that SNP rs2071480, which is in high LD with rs1351383 and rs2127675, may have a weak effect on the promoter activity of PSMB9. Taken together, our data suggested that functional variants in PSMB9 may contribute to melanoma susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Genome-wide association study identifies three loci associated with melanoma risk" by D.T. Bishop and colleagues in the 2009 issue.

Caspases are important regulators and executioners in the apoptosis pathways and play crucial roles in carcinogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that functional variants of CASP genes are associated with risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and second primary malignancy (SPM). We genotyped 7 selected, potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the microRNA binding sites of the 3′ untranslational region (UTR; 2 in CASP3, 1 in CASP6, and 4 in CASP7) and evaluated their associations first with risk of SCCHN in 1066 patients with SCCHN and 1074 cancer-free control subjects and then with SPM in 846 patients in the same non-Hispanic white study population. We found that compared with the CASP3 TT genotype of rs1049253, the variant TC/CC genotypes were associated with significantly increased risk of SCCHN (adjusted odds ratio=1.29 and 95% confidence interval=1.07-1.56) and SPM (adjusted hazard ratio=1.79 and 95% CI=1.02–3.16) and worse SPM-free survival (log-rank P = 0.020), but no associations were found for the other 6 SNPs. We then performed additional experiments to seek functional relevance of the rs1049253 SNP. First, the luciferase activity and miR-885-5p mimic transfection tests suggested that CASP3 was the target of miR-885-5p and that rs1049253T>C resulted in altered regulation of the CASP3 expression. Second, the rs1049253 CC genotype was associated with reduced levels of CASP3 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 118 SCCHN patients and 103 cancer-free control subjects and lower levels of CASP3 protein expression in 11 head and neck cancer cell lines, compared with the TT genotype. Taken together, our data suggest that the miR-885-5p binding site rs1049253T>C SNP in the 3′-UTR of CASP3 modulates CASP3 expression at both mRNA and protein levels and thus contributes to SCCHN susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic mapping of quantitative traits requires genotypic data for large numbers of markers in many individuals. For such studies, the use of large single nucleotide polymorphism ( SNP) genotyping arrays still offers the most cost-effective solution. Herein we report on the design and performance of a SNP genotyping array for Populus trichocarpa (black cottonwood). This genotyping array was designed with SNPs pre-ascertained in 34 wild accessions covering most of the species latitudinal range. We adopted a candidate gene approach to the array design that resulted in the selection of 34 131 SNPs, the majority of which are located in, or within 2 kb of, 3543 candidate genes. A subset of the SNPs on the array (539) was selected based on patterns of variation among the SNP discovery accessions. We show that more than 95% of the loci produce high quality genotypes and that the genotyping error rate for these is likely below 2%. We demonstrate that even among small numbers of samples ( n = 10) from local populations over 84% of loci are polymorphic. We also tested the applicability of the array to other species in the genus and found that the number of polymorphic loci decreases rapidly with genetic distance, with the largest numbers detected in other species in section Tacamahaca. Finally, we provide evidence for the utility of the array to address evolutionary questions such as intraspecific studies of genetic differentiation, species assignment and the detection of natural hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First principles calculations of electronic and optical properties of multiferroic oxide BiFeO3 are used in combination with a plasmonic device model of optical switch to show that a BiFeO3 based device can have much better performance than devices based on existing materials. This arises from the combination of octahedral tilts, ferroelectricity and G-type antiferromagnetism in BiFeO3 leading to a strong dependence of the optical refractive indices on the orientation with respect to the polarization. A prototype of a plasmonic resonator with an R-BFO thin film layer is used as an example and shows excellent switch and modulation responses. The proposed approach provides potential opportunities to develop high performance nanophotonic devices for optical communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF) is a major mediator of angiogenesis and lung cancer progression. We hypothesized that VEGF polymorphisms may modulate the risk of radiation pneumonitis ( RP) in non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) patients treated with definitive radiotherapy. We genotyped three potentially functional VEGF single nucleotide polymorphisms (&460 T > C [rs833061], &634 G > C [rs2010963] and +936 C > T [rs3025039]) and estimated the associations of their genotypes and haplotypes with severe radiation pneumonitis ( RP ≥grade 3) in 195 NSCLC patients. We found that the VEGF genotypes of rs2010963 and rs3025039 single nucleotide polymorphisms as well as the &460 C/&634 G/+936 C haplotype were predictors of RP development (adjusted hazard ratio [adj HR] = 2.33, 95% confidence interval [ CI], 1.01-5.37, P = 0.047 for CC vs GG genotypes; adj HR = 28.13, 95% CI, 5.24-151.02, P < 0.001 for TT vs CC genotypes; and adj HR = 2.51, 95% CI, 1.27-4.98, P = 0.008 for T-C-T vs C-G-C haplotypes). In addition, there was a trend towards reduced RP risk in patients carrying an increased number of protective VEGF genotypes. Our data suggest that VEGF polymorphisms can modulate the risk of radiation pneumonitis in NSCLC patients treated with definitive radiotherapy. Large and independent studies are needed to confirm our findings. ( Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 945-950) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The p53 pathway plays a critical role in maintaining genomic stability and preventing tumor formation. Given the roles of both MDM4 and HPV16 E6 oncoproteins in inhibition of p53 activity, we tested the hypothesis that MDM4 polymorphisms are associated with the risk of HPV16-associated squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN). METHODS: Genotyping was conducted on 3 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs11801299 G>A, rs10900598 G>T, and rs1380576 C>G) in MDM4, and serology was used to determine HPV 16 exposure in 380 cases and 335 cancer-free controls that were frequency-matched by age, sex, smoking, and drinking status. RESULTS: None of 3 MDM4 polymorphisms alone was significantly associated with risk of overall SCCHN. With further analysis stratified by HPV16 serology and tumor site, we found that each polymorphism individually modified the risk of HPV16-associated squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx (SCCOP), and such effect modification was particularly pronounced in never smokers and never drinkers. CONCLUSION: The risk of HPV16-associated SCCOP could be modified by MDM4 polymorphisms. Large and prospective studies are needed to validate our findings. Cancer 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) is a pathway that repairs DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) to maintain genomic stability in response to irradiation. The authors hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NHEJ repair genes may affect clinical outcomes in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who receive definitive radio(chemo)therapy. METHODS: The authors genotyped 5 potentially functional SNPs-x-ray repair complementing defective repair in Chinese hamster cells 4 ( XRCC4) reference SNP (rs) number rs6869366 (−1394 guanine to thymine [−1394G→T] change) and rs28360071 (intron 3, deletion/insertion), XRCC5 rs3835 (guanine to adenine [G→A] change at nucleotide 2408), XRCC6 rs2267437 (−1310 cytosine to guanine [C→G) change], and DNA ligase IV ( LIG4) rs1805388 (threonine-to-isoleucine change at codon 9 [T9I])-and estimated their associations with severe radiation pneumonitis (RP) (grade ≥3) in 195 patients with NSCLC. RESULTS: A predictive role in radiation pneumonitis (RP) development was observed for the LIG4 SNP rs1805388 (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-4.12; P = .037 for the CT/TT genotype vs the CC genotype). In addition, men with the TT genotype of the XRCC4 rs6869366 SNP and women with AG + AA genotypes of the XRCC5 rs3835 SNP also were at increased risk of developing severe RP. CONCLUSIONS: The current results indicated that NHEJ genetic polymorphisms, particularly LIG4 rs1805388, may modulate the risk of RP in patients with NSCLC who receive definitive radio(chemo)therapy. Large studies will be needed to confirm these findings. Cancer 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. To the best of our knowledge, no studies to date have evaluated roles of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFBP5) polymorphisms in risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Methods. A hospital-based study of 1082 patients with SCCHN and 1120 cancer-free controls was performed to investigate associations between 2 functional polymorphisms, -1195T>C and -709G>C, in the IGFBP5 promoter region and SCCHN risk. Results. We demonstrated that the transcription factor, activator protein 1 (AP-1), differentially bound to T or C variants at -1195 in the promoter to regulate the IGFBP5 promoter activity and that the C variant genotypes were associated with deferential risk of late-stage SCCHN, compared to the TT genotype, particularly for human papillomavirus (HPV)-unrelated sites (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-4.11 for CC vs TT). Conclusion. The IGFBP5 -1195T>C polymorphism is functional and may potentially be a biomarker for susceptibility to late-stage SCCHN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a hospital-based study which investigated the associations between two potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) genes and the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. A brief information on head and neck cancer is offered. It discusses the substitution in ADH1B at amino acid 48 and in ADH7 at amino acid 92. Also presented in details are the findings of the study.

The ATP-binding cassette G2 (ABCG2) c.421C>A (rs2231142) polymorphism influences the pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin. We examined whether this polymorphism influences the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)-lowering efficacy of the drug. In 305 Chinese patients with hypercholesterolemia who were treated with rosuvastatin at a dosage of 10 mg daily, the c.421A variant was found to be significantly associated with greater reduction in LDL-C level, in a gene-dose-dependent manner. As compared with subjects with the c.421CC genotype, those with the c.421AA genotype showed a 6.9% greater reduction in LDL-C level, which would be equivalent to the effect obtained by doubling the dose of rosuvastatin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that synthesized the luminescent macromolecular lanthanide complexes. Characterization was performed by elemental analysis, thermal analysis, and fluorescence determination. The study found that the carboxylic groups on the chain of the polymers acted as bidentate ligands coordinated to lanthanide ions.

In a hospital-based case-control study of 805 non-Hispanic whites with cutaneous melanoma and 841 cancer-free age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched control subjects, 3 VDR polymorphisms ( i.e., TaqI, BsmI and FokI) were genotyped using blood samples collected between 1994 and 2006. We tested the hypothesis that the haplotypes and combined genotypes of these polymorphisms were associated with melanoma risk by interacting with known risk factors. Haplotypes t-B-F (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34-0.80) and t-B-f (adjusted OR, 0.51; CI, 0.27-0.94) were associated with a reduced risk when compared to T-b-f. The combined genotypes Tt+tt/Bb+BB/Ff+ff (adjusted OR, 0.69; CI, 0.52, 0.90) and Tt+tt/Bb+BB/FF (adjusted OR, 0.58; CI, 0.43, 0.78) were also associated with reduced risk, whereas the combined genotype TT/Bb+BB/Ff+ff genotype (adjusted OR, 2.35; CI, 1.13, 4.98) was associated with increased risk when compared to TT/bb/Ff+ff genotypes. On multivariate analysis, only the TaqI polymorphism was an independent risk factor, while the FokI polymorphism interacted with skin color ( p = 0.029), moles ( p = 0.017) and first-degree relatives with any cancer ( p = 0.013) in modifying risk. Together, these findings suggest that VDR polymorphisms may directly affect or modify the risk associated with known melanoma risk factors. Larger, population-based studies are needed to replicate our findings. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extract yields obtained by three methods in different solvents from chilli were compared. The antioxidant activities of chilli extracts vs. butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) was determined through the peroxide value (POV), the beta-carotene bleaching assay and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging method. The results showed that the extract yields by three extract methods, namely, Soxhlet, ultrasonic wave and saturation, were 16.32%, 15.78% and 11.62%, respectively, when 85% ethanol acted as solvent. The extracting efficiency of solvent from high to low was 95% ethanol > ethyl acetate > anhydrous ethanol > distilled water. The total phenol content of chilli extracts from ultrasonic wave with 85% ethanol as solvent was 73.91 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per gram extracts and the value of inhibitory capacity IC50 on free radical (DPPH) was 38.99 mg mL−1. The POV of chilli extracts was close to that of BHT. The ultrasonic wave was more helpful for the extraction of antioxidant substance from chilli than other methods. In addition, the composition of chilli extracts was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrum (GC-MS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]