Search

Radiative decays of the radially excited charmonium resonance, (Formula presented) into (Formula presented) (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) final states have been measured in a sample of (Formula presented) (Formula presented) events collected by the BES Collaboration. The branching ratios (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are obtained. When compared to the corresponding radiative (Formula presented) decays, the observed (Formula presented) radiative decay rates into (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are consistent with the prediction of the “12%” rule. © 2003 The American Physical Society.

Radiative decays of the radially excited charmonium resonance, (Formula presented) into (Formula presented) (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) final states have been measured in a sample of (Formula presented) (Formula presented) events collected by the BES Collaboration. The branching ratios (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are obtained. When compared to the corresponding radiative (Formula presented) decays, the observed (Formula presented) radiative decay rates into (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are consistent with the prediction of the “12%” rule. © 2003 The American Physical Society.

The branching fraction of the ψ(2S) decay into τ+τ - has been measured for the first time using the BES detector at the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider. The result is Bττ=(2.710. 43±0.55)× 10-3, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. This value, along with those for the branching fractions into e+e- and μ+ μ- of this resonance, satisfy well the relation predicted by the sequential lepton hypothesis. Combining all these values with the leptonic width of the resonance, the total width of the ψ(25) is determined to be (252±37) keV. ©2002 The American Physical Society.

The Beijing Spectrometer (BES) detector is a general purpose solenoid detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider in Beijing, China. The recent upgrade of the initial BES detector to the improved BES II detector is described. A new drift chamber, time-of-flight counter, luminosity monitor compatible with a low-β lattice was built as well as the vertex chamber.

The Beijing Spectrometer (BES) detector is a general purpose solenoid detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider in Beijing, China. The recent upgrade of the initial BES detector to the improved BES II detector is described. A new drift chamber, time-of-flight counter, luminosity monitor compatible with a low-β lattice was built as well as the vertex chamber.

The first measurement of (Formula presented) and an upper limit for (Formula presented) are determined from 22.3 (Formula presented) of (Formula presented) annihilation data at a c.m. energy of 4.03 GeV. The data were recorded by the Beijing Spectrometer (BES) at BEPC. A recoil charge method is applied to charm threshold data to determine the charge of the D meson in the recoil from (Formula presented) reconstructed (Formula presented) (Formula presented) mesons. The branching fractions (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are determined from 10 events with a reconstructed D and a recoiling (Formula presented) In addition, a 90% C.L. upper limit of (Formula presented) is determined from a search for semileptonic decays of the (Formula presented) © 2000 The American Physical Society.

Using a sample of 3.8 M (Formula presented) events accumulated with the BES detector, the process (Formula presented) is studied. The angular distributions are compared with the general decay amplitude analysis of Cahn. We find that the dipion system requires some D wave amplitude, as well as S wave. On the other hand, the (Formula presented) relative angular momentum is consistent with being pure S wave. The decay distributions have been fit to heavy quarkonium models, including the Novikov-Shifman model. This model, which is written in terms of the parameter (Formula presented) predicts that D wave pions should be present. We determine (Formula presented) based on the joint (Formula presented) distribution. The fraction of D wave amplitude as a function of (Formula presented) is found to decrease with increasing (Formula presented) in agreement with the model. We have also fit the Mannel-Yan model, which is another model that allows D wave pions. © 2000 The American Physical Society.

The cross section for charmed meson production at √s=4.03 and 4.14 GeV has been measured with the Beijing Spectrometer. The measurement was made using 22.3 pb-1 of e+e- data collected at 4.03 GeV and 1.5 pb-1 of e+e- data collected at 4.14 GeV. Inclusive observed cross sections for the production of charged and neutral D mesons and momentum spectra are presented. Observed cross sections were radiatively corrected to obtain tree level cross sections. Measurements of the total hadronic cross section are obtained from the charmed meson cross section and an extrapolation of results from below the charm threshold. ©2000 The American Physical Society.

Using a sample of 3.8 M (Formula presented) events accumulated with the BES detector, the process (Formula presented) is studied. The angular distributions are compared with the general decay amplitude analysis of Cahn. We find that the dipion system requires some D wave amplitude, as well as S wave. On the other hand, the (Formula presented) relative angular momentum is consistent with being pure S wave. The decay distributions have been fit to heavy quarkonium models, including the Novikov-Shifman model. This model, which is written in terms of the parameter (Formula presented) predicts that D wave pions should be present. We determine (Formula presented) based on the joint (Formula presented) distribution. The fraction of D wave amplitude as a function of (Formula presented) is found to decrease with increasing (Formula presented) in agreement with the model. We have also fit the Mannel-Yan model, which is another model that allows D wave pions. © 2000 The American Physical Society.

The first measurement of (Formula presented) and an upper limit for (Formula presented) are determined from 22.3 (Formula presented) of (Formula presented) annihilation data at a c.m. energy of 4.03 GeV. The data were recorded by the Beijing Spectrometer (BES) at BEPC. A recoil charge method is applied to charm threshold data to determine the charge of the D meson in the recoil from (Formula presented) reconstructed (Formula presented) (Formula presented) mesons. The branching fractions (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are determined from 10 events with a reconstructed D and a recoiling (Formula presented) In addition, a 90% C.L. upper limit of (Formula presented) is determined from a search for semileptonic decays of the (Formula presented) © 2000 The American Physical Society.

Hadronic decays of the P-wave spin-triplet charmonium states (Formula presented) are studied using a sample of (Formula presented) decays collected by the BES detector operating at the BEPC storage ring. Branching fractions for the decays (Formula presented) (Formula presented) (Formula presented) (Formula presented) (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are measured for the first time, and those for (Formula presented) (Formula presented) (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are measured with improved precision. In addition, we determine the masses of the (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) to be (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) © 1999 The American Physical Society.

A sample of 3.79 × 106ψ(2S) events is used to study the decays of charmonium to axial-vector plus pseudoscalar mesons. The branching fraction for the decay ψ(2S) → b±1(1235)π∓ agrees with expectations based on scaling the corresponding J/ψ branching fraction. Flavor-SU(3)-violating K1(1270)- K1(1400) asymmetries with opposite character for ψ(2S) and J/ψ decays are observed. This contrasting behavior cannot be accommodated by adjustments of the singlet-triplet mixing angle. © 1999 The American Physical Society.

Hadronic decays of the P-wave spin-triplet charmonium states (Formula presented) are studied using a sample of (Formula presented) decays collected by the BES detector operating at the BEPC storage ring. Branching fractions for the decays (Formula presented) (Formula presented) (Formula presented) (Formula presented) (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are measured for the first time, and those for (Formula presented) (Formula presented) (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) are measured with improved precision. In addition, we determine the masses of the (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) to be (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) © 1999 The American Physical Society.

The decays of the ψ(2S) into vector plus tensor meson final states have been studied for the first time using the BES detector. We determine upper limits on branching fractions for ψ(2S) decays into ωf2, ρa2, K*0K*02 + c.c., and φf'2(1525) that are, in each case, significantly smaller than the corresponding branching fractions for the J/ψ meson, scaled according to the expectations of perturbative QCD. © 1998 The American Physical Society.

The processes ψ(2S) → I π+ π−, γK+ K−, and γpp¯ have been studied using a sample of 3.79 × 106 ψ(2S) decays. We determine the total width of the χc0 to be γtotχc0 = 14.3 ± 2.0 ± 3.0 MeV. We present the first measurement of the branching fraction B(χc0 → pp¯) = (15.9 ± 4.3 ± 5.3) × 10−5, where the first error is statistical and the second one is systematic. Branching fractions of χc0, 2 → π+ π− and K+ K− are also reported. © 1998 American Physical Society.

Purely leptonic decays of the charged D meson have been studied using the reaction e+e- → D*+D- at a center of mass energy of 4.03 GeV. A search was performed for D → μνμ recoiling against a D0 or D+ which had been reconstructed from its hadronic decay products. A single event candidate was found in the reaction e+e- → D*+D-, where D*+ → π+D0 with the D0 → K-π+, and the recoiling D- decaying via D- → μ-ν̄μ. This yields a branching fraction value B(D → μνμ) = 0.08+0.16+0.05-0.05-0.02%, and a corresponding value of the pseudoscalar decay constant fD = 300+180+80-150-40 MeV. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Purely leptonic decays of the charged D meson have been studied using the reaction e+e- → D*+D- at a center of mass energy of 4.03 GeV. A search was performed for D → μνμ recoiling against a D0 or D+ which had been reconstructed from its hadronic decay products. A single event candidate was found in the reaction e+e- → D*+D-, where D*+ → π+D0 with the D0 → K-π+, and the recoiling D- decaying via D- → μ-ν̄μ. This yields a branching fraction value B(D → μνμ) = 0.08+0.16+0.05-0.05-0.02%, and a corresponding value of the pseudoscalar decay constant fD = 300+180+80-150-40 MeV. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A search is performed for the production of the (Formula presented) in (Formula presented) annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 4.03 GeV using the BES detector operated at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC). The kinematic features of the reconstructed (Formula presented) signal are consistent with its being produced only in association with an energetic photon resulting from initial state radiation (ISR). Limits are placed on (Formula presented) production from the decay of unknown charmonia or metastable hybrids that might be produced in (Formula presented) annihilations at 4.03 GeV. Under the assumption that the observed cross section for (Formula presented) production is due entirely to ISR, the partial width (Formula presented) of the (Formula presented) is measured to be (Formula presented). © 1998 The American Physical Society.

The absolute inclusive branching fraction of (Formula presented) has been measured from data collected by the BES detector at a center-of-mass energy of 4.03 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 22.3 pb(Formula presented). At this energy, direct pair production (Formula presented) has been observed. We have selected (Formula presented) candidate events by reconstructing five hadronic decay modes (Formula presented), (Formula presented), (Formula presented), (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) and have searched for inclusive (Formula presented)’s in the recoiling (Formula presented). We observed three recoiling (Formula presented)’s in the 166.4 (Formula presented) 31.8 (Formula presented) candidate events, which leads to the absolute branching fraction (Formula presented) and (Formula presented). © 1998 The American Physical Society.

The absolute inclusive branching fraction of (Formula presented) has been measured from data collected by the BES detector at a center-of-mass energy of 4.03 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 22.3 pb(Formula presented). At this energy, direct pair production (Formula presented) has been observed. We have selected (Formula presented) candidate events by reconstructing five hadronic decay modes (Formula presented), (Formula presented), (Formula presented), (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) and have searched for inclusive (Formula presented)’s in the recoiling (Formula presented). We observed three recoiling (Formula presented)’s in the 166.4 (Formula presented) 31.8 (Formula presented) candidate events, which leads to the absolute branching fraction (Formula presented) and (Formula presented). © 1998 The American Physical Society.

A search is performed for the production of the (Formula presented) in (Formula presented) annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 4.03 GeV using the BES detector operated at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC). The kinematic features of the reconstructed (Formula presented) signal are consistent with its being produced only in association with an energetic photon resulting from initial state radiation (ISR). Limits are placed on (Formula presented) production from the decay of unknown charmonia or metastable hybrids that might be produced in (Formula presented) annihilations at 4.03 GeV. Under the assumption that the observed cross section for (Formula presented) production is due entirely to ISR, the partial width (Formula presented) of the (Formula presented) is measured to be (Formula presented). © 1998 The American Physical Society.

The absolute inclusive semileptonic branching fraction of the [Formula presented] meson has been measured based on [Formula presented] of [Formula presented] collision data collected with the Beijing Spectrometer at [Formula presented] At this energy, the [Formula presented] are produced in pairs: [Formula presented] We reconstructed [Formula presented] [Formula presented] events in five hadronic decay modes. In the recoil system of these events, several [Formula presented] inclusive semileptonic decays were observed and the branching fraction is estimated to be [Formula presented] © 1997 The American Physical Society.

The absolute inclusive semileptonic branching fraction of the [Formula presented] meson has been measured based on [Formula presented] of [Formula presented] collision data collected with the Beijing Spectrometer at [Formula presented] At this energy, the [Formula presented] are produced in pairs: [Formula presented] We reconstructed [Formula presented] [Formula presented] events in five hadronic decay modes. In the recoil system of these events, several [Formula presented] inclusive semileptonic decays were observed and the branching fraction is estimated to be [Formula presented] © 1997 The American Physical Society.

The cross section for e+e-→ρπ has been measured by the BES detector at BEPC at center-of-mass energies covering a 40 MeV interval spanning the J/ψresonance. The data are used to search for the vector gluonium state hypothesized by Brodsky, Lepage, and Tuan as an explanation of the ρπ puzzle in charmonium physics. The shape of the ρπ cross section is compatible with that of the total hadronic cross section. No distortions indicating the presence of a vector glueball are seen. © 1996 The American Physical Society.

A data-driven energy scan in the immediate vicinity of the τ pair production threshold has been performed using the Beijing Spectrometer at the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider. Approximately 5pb-1 of data, distributed over 12 scan points, have been collected. A previous mass value for the τ lepton, obtained using only the eµ final state, has been published. In this paper, the final BES result on the mass measurement is presented. The analysis is based on the combined data from the ee, eµ, eh, µµ, µh, and hh final states, where h denotes a charged Π or K. A maximum likelihood fit to the τ pair production cross section data yields the value mT=1776.96-0.21 -0.17+0.18+0.25. © 1995 The American Physical Society.

A data-driven energy scan in the immediate vicinity of the τ pair production threshold has been performed using the Beijing Spectrometer at the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider. Approximately 5pb-1 of data, distributed over 12 scan points, have been collected. A previous mass value for the τ lepton, obtained using only the eµ final state, has been published. In this paper, the final BES result on the mass measurement is presented. The analysis is based on the combined data from the ee, eµ, eh, µµ, µh, and hh final states, where h denotes a charged Π or K. A maximum likelihood fit to the τ pair production cross section data yields the value mT=1776.96-0.21 -0.17+0.18+0.25. © 1995 The American Physical Society.

The Beijing Spectrometer (BES) experiment has observed purely leptonic decays of the Ds meson in the reaction e+e-→Ds+Ds- at a c.m. energy of 4.03 GeV. Three events are observed in which one Ds decays hadronically to φπ, K̄*0K, or K̄0K, and the other decays leptonically to μνμ or τντ. With the assumption of μ-τ universality, values of the branching fraction, B(Ds→μνμ)=(1.5-0.6-0.2+1.3+0.3)%, and the Ds pseudoscalar decay constant, fDs=(4.3-1.3-0.4+1.5+0.4)×102 MeV, are obtained. © 1995 The American Physical Society.

Objective: Obesity enhances the frequency and severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by renal ischemia-reperfusion (IR). Tanshinone IIA (TIIA) pre-treatment was used to alleviate renal injury induced by renal IR, and whether TIIA can attenuate renal cell apoptosis via modulating mitochondrial function through PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway in obese rats was examined., Methods: Male rates were fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to generate obesity, followed by 30 min of kidney ischemia and 24 h reperfusion induced AKI. The male obese rates were given TIIA (5 mg/kg.d, 10 mg/kg.d, and 20 mg/kg.d) for 2 weeks before renal IR., Results: TIIA alleviated the pathohistological injury and apoptosis induced by IR. In addition, TIIA improved renal function, inflammatory factor, and balance of oxidation and antioxidation in obese rats after renal IR. At the same time, TIIA can inhibit cell apoptosis by improving mitochondrial function through the PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway. Mitochondrial dysfunction was supported by decreasing intracellular ATP, respiration controlling rate (RCR), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and mitochondrial respiratory chain complex enzymes, and by increasing ROS, the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), and the mtDNA damage. The injury to mitochondrial dynamic function was assessed by decreasing Drp1, and increasing Mfn1/2; and the injury of mitochondrial biogenesis was assessed by decreasing PGC-1, Nrf1, and TFam., Conclusions: Renal mitochondrial dysfunction occurs along with renal IR and can induce renal cell apoptosis. Obesity can aggravate apoptosis. TIIA can attenuate renal cell apoptosis via modulating mitochondrial function through PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway in obese rats.

This study investigated the role of calpain in Eimeria tenella-induced host cell apoptosis. Chick embryo cecal epithelial cell culture technology, flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and fluorescence quantitative PCR were used to detect the E. tenella host cell apoptotic rate, Bax and Bid expression levels, and calpain activity. The results demonstrated that Bax, Bid, and calpain levels were upregulated and apoptosis was increased following E. tenella infection at 24-120 h. Calpain levels were reduced by pharmacological inhibition of calpain using SJA6017 or by blocking Ca 2+ entry into the cell using BAPTA/AM at 24-120 h. The mRNA and protein levels of Bax and Bid, the E. tenella infection rate, and the early apoptotic and late apoptotic (necrosis) rates were decreased by using SJA6017 at 24-120 h. These results indicated that E. tenella-promoted host cell apoptosis is regulated by calpain via Bid and Bax at 24-120 h. Thus, manipulation of calpain levels could be used to manage E. tenella infection in chickens in the middle and late developmental stages., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Obesity, which has unknown pathogenesis, can increase the frequency and seriousness of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study evaluated effect of Huayu Qutan Recipe (HQR) pretreatment on myocardial apoptosis induced by AMI by regulating mitochondrial function via PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway in rats with obesity. For in vivo experiments, 60 male rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: sham group, AMI group, AMI (obese) group, 4.5, 9.0 and 18.0 g/kg/d HQR groups. The models fed on HQR with different concentrations for 2 weeks before AMI. For in vitro experiments, the cardiomyocytes line (H9c2) was used. Cells were pretreated with palmitic acid (PA) for 24 h, then to build hypoxia model followed by HQR-containing serum for 24 h. Related indicators were also detected. In vivo, HQR can lessen pathohistological damage and apoptosis after AMI. In addition, HQR improves blood fat levels, cardiac function, inflammatory factor, the balance of oxidation and antioxidation, as well as lessen infarction in rats with obesity after AMI. Meanwhile, HQR can diminish myocardial cell death by improving mitochondrial function via PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway activation. In vitro, HQR inhibited H9c2 cells apoptosis, improved mitochondrial function and activated the PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway, but effects can be peripeteiad by LY294002. Myocardial mitochondrial dysfunction occurs following AMI and can lead to myocardial apoptosis, which can be aggravated by obesity. HQR can relieve myocardial apoptosis by improving mitochondrial function via the PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway in rats with obesity., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

To find an economical solution to infer the depth of the surrounding environment of unmanned agricultural vehicles (UAV), a lightweight depth estimation model called MonoDA based on a convolutional neural network is proposed. A series of sequential frames from monocular videos are used to train the model. The model is composed of two subnetworks-the depth estimation subnetwork and the pose estimation subnetwork. The former is a modified version of U-Net that reduces the number of bridges, while the latter takes EfficientNet-B0 as its backbone network to extract the features of sequential frames and predict the pose transformation relations between the frames. The self-supervised strategy is adopted during the training, which means the depth information labels of frames are not needed. Instead, the adjacent frames in the image sequence and the reprojection relation of the pose are used to train the model. Subnetworks' outputs (depth map and pose relation) are used to reconstruct the input frame, then a self-supervised loss between the reconstructed input and the original input is calculated. Finally, the loss is employed to update the parameters of the two subnetworks through the backward pass. Several experiments are conducted to evaluate the model's performance, and the results show that MonoDA has competitive accuracy over the KITTI raw dataset as well as our vineyard dataset. Besides, our method also possessed the advantage of non-sensitivity to color. On the computing platform of our UAV's environment perceptual system NVIDIA JETSON TX2, the model could run at 18.92 FPS. To sum up, our approach provides an economical solution for depth estimation by using monocular cameras, which achieves a good trade-off between accuracy and speed and can be used as a novel auxiliary depth detection paradigm for UAVs.

Aim: To compare the diagnostic values by using transthoracic echocardiography (ECHO) and multi-slice spiral CT coronary angiography (CTCA) for identifying coronary artery thrombosis in children with Kawasaki disease (KD). Methods: Total 97 KD children with coronary artery dilation complications in our hospital from June 2012 to December 2020 were included in the study. CTCA and ECHO were performed after over 1 month of illness. Results: Coronary artery thrombosis was found in 14 out of 97 patients. Among them, 10 were identified as positive by CTCA, 9 were identified as positive by ECHO, and 5 were identified as positive by both CTCA and ECHO. Conclusion: Both CTCA and ECHO can be used to diagnose coronary artery thrombosis. ECHO has advantage in identifying low-density thrombus, and CTCA is better for the clot in distal coronary artery. They can complement each other., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Xu, Chu, Li, Wang, Ma, Yu, Yu, Chen, Xing, Yu, Sun, Cui and Wang.)

We proposed a new iterative power and amplitude correction (IPAC) algorithm to simulate nonstationary and non-Gaussian processes. The proposed algorithm is rooted in the concept of defining the stochastic processes in the transform domain, which is elaborated and extend. The algorithm extends the iterative amplitude adjusted Fourier transform algorithm for generating surrogate and the spectral correction algorithm for simulating stationary non-Gaussian process. The IPAC algorithm can be used with different popular transforms, such as the Fourier transform, S-transform, and continuous wavelet transforms. The targets for the simulation are the marginal probability distribution function of the process and the power spectral density function of the process that is defined based on the variables in the transform domain for the adopted transform. The algorithm is versatile and efficient. Its application is illustrated using several numerical examples., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Aim: To explore the correlation between different phenotypes of arrhythmia and the prognosis in children with EFE/LVNC/DCM. Methods: A total of 167 children with cardiomyopathy diagnosed and treated in Shengjing Hospital between January 2010 and May 2019 were evaluated. After patient screening, 31 patients with endomyocardial fibroelastosis (EFE), left ventricular non-compaction, or dilated cardiomyopathy with significant arrhythmias were selected. In addition, 42 children with primary EFE were selected to evaluate the prognosis with or without arrhythmia. Follow-up was undertaken 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after treatment. Results: We revealed the outcomes for five types of cardiomyopathy: EFE patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome B and supraventricular tachycardia, intraventricular block and complete left bundle branch block recovered slower than EFE patients with atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation, even slower than EFE with ventricular tachycardia. The average recovering time for LVEF and LVED in EFE patients without arrythmia was 10 months after diagnosis, while 76.9% (3/13 cases) of those with significant arrythmia hadn't recovered until 24 months after diagnosis. Three of patients died at 6, 7, and 6 and half years after diagnosis. Conclusion: The long-term prognosis in children with cardiomyopathy is associated with the type of arrhythmia and time of intervention. The prognosis of EFE patients with arrhythmia is worse than EFE patients without arrhythmia. Patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome B, especially a significantly widen QRS complex, carry a poor prognosis if radiofrequency ablation is not undertaken. CLBBB patients have similar poor prognosis if proper pacemaker is not implanted timely., (Copyright © 2020 Wang, Chu, Yu, Chen, Xing, Yu, Wang, Sun, Xu, Li and Cui.)

Objective: To explore the effects of surgical treatment for myasthenia gravis as well as its influencing factors. Methods: A total of 180 patients with myasthenia gravis who underwent thymectomy from August 2012 to September 2018 were enrolled. Clinical data such as age, gender, disease classification, preoperative AChR-Ab, preoperative course, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and pathological type was retrospectively reviewed. Univariate analysis and Cox regression model were used to analyze possible influencing factors of surgical effects. Results: A total of 145 patients were finally enrolled and the follow-up period was from 4 to 78 months, with a median follow-up time of 34 months. Thirty-four patients (23.4%) achieved complete stable remission (CSR). The total clinical remission and effective rate reached 75.1% (109 cases) and 89.6% (130 cases), respectively. Correlation analysis showed that age below 45 years old, preoperative course within 12 months, positive AChR-Ab and thymic hyperplasia were clinical influencing factors for better surgical results ( P =0.030, 0.048, 0.019 and 0.042, respectively). Conclusions: It is safe and effective to undergo thymectomy for myasthenia gravis. Age, preoperative course, AChR-Ab level and pathological type were the influencing factors of surgical effects.

To identify differentially expressed genes in sepsis and potential key role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) genes associated with sepsis. Gene expression dataset was available from GSE46599. Firstly, we screened the differentially expressed genes between sepsis and healthy samples. Then, the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) online tools were utilized to perform gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses at the functional level. Differentially expressed genes mediating ROS levels were validated in the next investigation and analysis. We identified 1094 genes expressed differentially between normal and sepsis samples, including 655 upregulated genes and 439 downregulated genes. At the functional level, GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that those differentially expressed genes were majorly associated with the immune response and metabolic process in sepsis. Further analysis revealed that neutrophil cytosolic factor 1(NCF1), a critical gene in the ROS system, upregulated in THP-1 cell and monocytes under lipopolysaccharides stimulation. Moreover, we identified the upregulation of NCF1 in a sepsis model. We screened the differentially expressed genes from the global level and identified NCF1 might be a critical target gene in sepsis.

To investigate the effects of anti-androgen drugs and melengestrol acetate (MGA) on development of regrowth antlers in 6 year old sika deer, twenty healthysika deerwith similar body weight and antler weightwere randomly divided into five groups by using single factor test design: flutamide ( n =4), bicalutamide ( n =4), progesterone acetate (CPA, n =4), melengestrol acetate (MGA, n =4), control( n =4). All deer were fed with same diets and were housed outside together in an opened fence of 15 m×30 m with free access to water and feed. Treatment groups were injected subcutaneously sustained-release agents of the four drugs respectively when two-branched antlers were harvested. The control group had no special treatment. In the experiment period of 60 d, blood sampleswere collected for 4 times for each deer. The concentration of testosterone in plasma was tested and analyzed to compare the changes between different groups. Development of regrowth antlers was observed. At the end of the experiment, regrowth antlers were weighted and analyzed. The resultsshowed that the weights of regrowth antlers in treatment groups were significantly greater than those from control group and the weight gain (as compared with the control group) was 100.50%, 64.46%, 87.16% and 117.46% respectively in flutamide group, bicalutamide group, progesterone acetate group and melengestrol acetate group. For plasma testosterone concentration, it was not significantly different in the early stage (in the first 35 d), but at the end of the experimen, it was significantly higher than that of earlier stage ( P <0.01) in various groups. Testosterone concentration of flutamide treated group was significantly lower than that of the other groups ( P <0.01), while the level inbicalutamide and MGA treated groups was significantly higher than that in other groups ( P <0.01). The results showed that both anti-androgen drugs and MGA treatment promoted the development of regrowth antlers and increased the weight of regrowth antlers, where the effect was most significant by MGA treatment. From the morphological observation of the antlers, it was found that anti-androgen and MGA treatments prolonged the growth period of regrowth antlers through delaying the ossification of antlers. However, plasma testosterone concentration was not affected by the treatments., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

The velvet antler is a special organ that has important biological significance for deer, and its growth is a complicated biological metabolism process. Growing evidence suggests that genetics factors play essential roles in the weight of velvet antlers. In this study, we investigated five sika deer (Cervus nippon) populations under the same feeding condition, and screened genetic variations in the 100 samples (including 50 heavy and 50 light velvet antler weight samples) by whole genome re-sequencing. The results showed that 94 genetic variations were related to the velvet antler weight, among which two single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites were located on the exon regions of OAS2 and ALYREF/THOC4, respectively. Furthermore, ALYREF/THOC4 is highly expressed in the velvet antler. The biological functions of these genetic variations were highly related to the growth and development of deer velvet antlers. Collectively, we screened genes related to the velvet antler weight in sika deer populations by whole genome re-sequencing and identified 94 sites as candidate genetic variations related to the velvet antler weight. We hope that it will contribute to further mechanistic studies of velvet antler development and weight variations.

The present study aimed to investigate the dynamic expression patterns of death-receptor adapter proteins TNF-receptor-associated death-domain protein (TRADD) and Fas-associated death-domain protein (FADD) in E. tenella-induced host-cell apoptosis. Culture techniques for primary chick embryo cecum epithelial cells, ELISA, hematoxylin-eosin staining, fluorescence quantitative PCR techniques, and Hoechst-Annexin V-PI apoptosis staining were used to detect the apoptosis rates and dynamic expression patterns of TRADD and FADD in E. tenella host cells at 4, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h. The rates of early apoptosis, late apoptosis, and necrosis of E. tenella-infected group (group T0) were significantly lower (P < 0.05) or highly significantly lower (P < 0.01) than those of control group (group C) at 4 h, but higher (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) at varying degrees than those of the same group at 24 to 120 h. Compared with group C, both the mRNA and protein expression levels of TRADD in the group T0 cells increased highly significantly (P < 0.01) at 4 and 24 h, and significantly (P < 0.05) at 48, 72, and 120 h. Compared with the mRNA expression in the group C cells, that of TRADD in the group T0 cells increased significantly (P < 0.05) at 96 h. Both the mRNA and protein expression of FADD in the group T0 cells displayed no significant difference (P > 0.05) from those in the group C cells at 4 h. However, FADD expression in the group T0 cells were significantly (P < 0.05) or highly significantly higher (P < 0.01) than those in the group C cells at 24 to 120 h. These observations indicate that in the early developmental stages of E. tenella, the host-cell apoptosis rate decreased, and TRADD expression increased. In the middle and later developmental stages of E. tenella, the host-cell apoptosis rate increased and expression of TRADD and FADD increased. The variation trends of TRADD and FADD expression were significantly positively correlated with the change rule of the host-cell apoptosis rate, respectively. These results indicate that TRADD and FADD may play an important role in E. tenella-induced host-cell apoptosis., (© 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.)

Accumulating evidence suggests that Eimeria tenella severely damages the intestinal mucosa in infected poultry, resulting in deadly haemorrhagic typhlocolitis and major economic losses. Damage to host tissue is believed to arise mainly from apoptosis, which is, in general, intimately related to mitochondrial function. However, it is unclear whether mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways are specifically involved in parasite-induced apoptosis of chick embryo cecal epithelial cells. Because the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) and caspase-9 are important elements in these pathways, we studied the effects of their respective inhibitors (i.e., cyclosporine A [CsA] and Z-LEHD-FMK, respectively) in primary cultures of chicken embryonic cecum epithelial cells using histopathological techniques, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assays, flow cytometry (FCM) and ELISA. Results indicated that the inhibitors significantly decreased (p < 0.01) DNA injury, apoptosis and caspase-9 and caspase-3 activity of chick embryo cecal epithelial cells at 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h after E. tenella infection. Thus, our data supported that mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways were involved in apoptosis of parasitised chick embryo cecal epithelial cells.

While effects of gestational, neonatal or adolescent stress on psychological alterations in progeny have been extensively studied, much less is known regarding the effects of adult pre-gestational life events on offspring behavior. Although full siblings often display behavioral differences, whether the different parental life events prior to different pregnancies contribute to these behavioral differences among siblings is worth studying. In this study, male and female adult mice were restrained for 60 days before mating with unstressed or stressed partners. F1 offspring were examined for anxiety or mated to generate F2. Both F1 females and males from restrained mothers and/or fathers showed significantly reduced anxiety and serum cortisol and increased mRNA levels of glucocorticoid receptor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor compared to control offspring from unstressed parents. Similar behavioral and molecular changes were also observed in F2 females and males. Although restraint of adolescent mice reduced anxiety in F1 of both sexes, social instability of them increased anxiety predominantly in F1 females. Thus, adult pre-gestational restraint reduced offspring's anxiety across generations; different stressors on parents may cause different phenotypes in offspring; individual behaviors can depend on adult life experiences of parents.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the dynamic changes in the main regulatory genes of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in E. tenella host cells. Primary chick embryo cecum epithelial cell culture techniques, spectrophotometer technology, Hoechst-Annexin V-PI apoptosis staining and ELISA were used to detect the apoptosis rate and dynamic changes of Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, Bax, Bak, Bid, Bad, HK-II, and ATP content in E. tenella host cells at 4, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h. The rates of early apoptosis, late apoptosis, and necrosis of group T0 were significantly lower (P < 0.05) or highly significantly lower (P < 0.01) than those of group C at 4 h, but higher (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) at varying degrees than those of the same group at 24-120 h. Compared to group C, the amount of Bcl-2, ATP, Bax and Bad in group T0 were visibly lower (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) at 4 h, whereas Bcl-xl/Bax was highly significantly higher (P < 0.01) at 4 h. In addition, group T0 had less ATP at 24-120 h than group C, whereas the amount of Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, Bax, Bak, Bid, Bad and HK-II in group T0 inversely increased in varying degrees at 24-120 h compared with group C. Moreover, Bcl-2/Bax was lower (P < 0.01) at 24, 48, and 96 h, and Bcl-xl/Bax was lower (P < 0.05) at 48 h in group T0 than in group C, respectively. Taken together, these observations indicate that in the early developmental stages of E. tenella, the host-cell apoptosis rate decreased; although the amount of anti- and pro-apoptotic genes in host cells decreased, the ratios of anti-apoptotic to pro-apoptotic bcl-2 gene-family members increased. In the middle and later developmental stages of E. tenella, the host-cell apoptosis rate increased; the amount of anti- and pro-apoptotic genes increased, while the ratios of anti-apoptotic to pro-apoptotic bcl-2 gene-family members decreased. In addition, ATP decreased at all developmental stages of E. tenella., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Study Question: What are the mechanisms by which the preimplantation restraint stress (PIRS) impairs embryo development and pregnancy outcome?, Summary Answer: PIRS impairs embryo development by triggering apoptosis in mouse oviducts and embryos,and this involves activation of the Fas system., What Is Known Already: Although it is known that the early stages of pregnancy are more vulnerable than later stages to prenatalstress, studies on the effect of preimplantation stress on embryo developmentare limited. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which psychological stress impairs embryo development are largely unknown. These issues are worth exploring using the mouse PIRS models because restraint of mice is an efficient experimental procedure developed for studies of psychogenic stress., Study Design, Size and Duration: Mice of Kunming strain, the generalized lymphoproliferative disorder (gld) mice with a germline mutation F273L in FasL in a C57BL/6J genomic background and the wild-type C57BL/6J mice were used. Female and male mice were used 8-10 weeks and 10-12 weeks after birth, respectively. Female mice showing vaginal plugs were paired by weight and randomly assigned to restraint treatments or as controls. For restraint treatment, an individual mouse was put in a micro-cage with food and water available. Control mice remained in their cages with food and water during the time treated females were stressed., Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Female mice were exposed to PIRS for 48 h starting from 16:00 on the day of vaginal plug detection. At the end of PIRS, levels of glucorticoids (GC), corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)and redox potential were measured in serum, while levels of GC, GC receptor (GR), CRH, CRH receptor (CRHR), Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) protein, mRNAs for brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), oxidative stress (OS) and apoptosis were examined in oviducts. Preimplantation development and levels of GR, Fas, redox potential and apoptosis were observed in embryos recovered at different times after the initiation of PIRS. The gld mice were used to confirm a role for the Fas system in triggering apoptosis of embryos and oviducts., Main Results and the Role of Chance: Compared to those in control mice, while the number of blastocysts/mouse (5.0 ± 0.7 versus 11.1 ± 0.5), cell number/blastocyst (49.1 ± 1.3 versus 61.5 ± 0.9), percentages of term pregnancy (37.5% versus 90.9%) and litter size (3.7 ± 0.1versus 9.6 ± 0.6) decreased, blood CRH (560 ± 23 versus 455 ± 37 pg/ml), cortisol (27.3 ± 3.4 versus 5 ± 0.5 ng/ml) and OS index (OSI: 2.8 versus 1.7) increased significantly (all P < 0.05) following PIRS. In the oviduct, while levels of CRH (1175 ± 85 versus 881 ± 33 pg/100 mg), cortisol (28.9 ± 1.7 versus14 ± 4 ng/g), CRHR (2.3 ± 0.3 versus 1.0 ± 0.0), FasL (1.31 ± 0.06 versus 1.08 ± 0.05 ng/g), Fas (1.42 ± 0.13 versus 1.0 ± 0.0) and apoptotic cells (19.1 ± 0.5% versus 8.4 ± 0.4%) increased, levels of GR proteins (0.67 ± 0.14 versus 1.0 ± 0.0) and Igf-1 (0.6 ± 0.09 versus 1.0 ± 0.0) and Bdnf (0.73 ± 0.03 versus 1.0 ± 0.0) mRNAs decreased significantly (all P < 0.05 versus control) after PIRS. Mouse embryos expressed GR and Fas at all stages of preimplantation development and embryo OS (GSH/GSSG ratio: 0.88 ± 0.03 versus 1.19 ± 0.13) and annexin-positive cells (blastocysts: 31.4 ± 3.8% versus 10.96 ± 3.4%) increased significantly (P < 0.05) following PIRS. Furthermore, the detrimental effects of PIRS on embryo development and oviductal apoptosis were much reduced in gld mice. Thus, PIRS triggered apoptosis in oviductal cells with activation of the Fas/FasL system. The apoptotic oviductal cells promoted embryo apoptosis with reduced production of IGF-1 and BDNF and increased production of FasL., Limitations, Reasons for Caution: Although important, the conclusions were drawn from limited results obtained using a single model in one species and thus they need further verification using other models and/or in other species. Furthermore, as differences in stressed samples were modest and sometimes not significant between gld and wild-type mice whereas differences between control and stressed samples were always present within gld mice, it is deduced that signaling pathways other than the Fas/FasL system might be involved as well in the PIRS-triggered apoptosis of oviducts and embryos., Wider Implications of the Findings: The data are important for studies on the mechanisms by which psychological stress affects female reproduction, as FasL expression has been observed in human oviduct epithelium., Large Scale Data: Not applicable., Study Funding and Competing Interests: This study was supported by grants from the National Basic Research Program of China (Nos. 2014CB138503 and 2012CB944403), the China National Natural Science Foundation (Nos. 31272444 and 30972096) and the Animal breeding improvement program of Shandong Province. All authors declare that their participation in the study did not involve factual or potential conflicts of interests., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved.For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)