Search

We report on the search for weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter candidates in the galactic halo that interact with sodium and iodine nuclei in the COSINE-100 experiment and produce energetic electrons that accompany recoil nuclei via the the Migdal effect. The WIMP mass sensitivity of previous COSINE-100 searches that relied on the detection of ionization signals produced by target nuclei recoiling from elastic WIMP-nucleus scattering was restricted to WIMP masses above $\sim$5 GeV/$c^2$ by the detectors' 1 keVee energy-electron-equivalent threshold. The search reported here looks for recoil signals enhanced by the Migdal electrons that are ejected during the scattering process. This is particularly effective for the detection of low-mass WIMP scattering from the crystals' sodium nuclei in which a relatively larger fraction of the WIMP's energy is transferred to the nucleus recoil energy and the excitation of its orbital electrons. In this analysis, the low-mass WIMP search window of the COSINE-100 experiment is extended to WIMP mass down to 200 MeV/$c^2$. The low-mass WIMP sensitivity will be further improved by lowering the analysis threshold based on a multivariable analysis technique. We consider the influence of these improvements and recent developments in detector performance to re-evaluate sensitivities for the future COSINE-200 experiment. With a 0.2 keVee analysis threshold and high light-yield NaI(Tl) detectors (22 photoelectrons/keVee), the COSINE-200 experiment can explore low-mass WIMPs down to 20 MeV/$c^2$ and probe previously unexplored regions of parameter space., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures

Background: Recent guidelines recommend a risk-adjusted non-invasive workup in patients presenting with chest discomfort to support or exclude the diagnosis of stable coronary artery disease (CAD). However, a risk-adjusted diagnostic approach remains challenging in clinical practice. An acoustic detection device for analyzing micro-bruits induced by stenosis-generated turbulence in the coronary circulation has now been developed and has shown potential for ruling out CAD in patients with low to intermediate likelihood.Objective: To examine the diagnostic value of an acoustic detection device in a high-prevalence cohort.Methods: Between 1/2016 and 2/2017, a total of 226 patients without prior invasive coronary angiography (ICA) were prospectively enrolled at two centers and were examined using a portable acoustic detection system. In a double-blinded fashion, the acoustic analysis was performed both prior to ICA with quantitative coronary analysis and following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Results: A CAD score was obtained in 213 of 226 patients (94%). The mean CAD score prior to ICA was 41.2±11.9 in patients with obstructive CAD compared with 33.8±13.4in patients without obstructive CAD (p

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the outcomes of transcatheter self-expandable prostheses in patients with small annuli.Transcatheter aortic heart valves appear to have better performance than surgical valves in terms of prosthesis-patient mismatch, especially in patients with aortic stenosis with small aortic annuli.TAVI-SMALL (International Multicenter Registry to Evaluate the Performance of Self-Expandable Valves in Small Aortic Annuli) is a retrospective registry of patients with severe aortic stenosis and small annuli (annular perimeter 72 mm or area 400 mmPre-discharge gradients were consistently low in every group, with a slight benefit with the Evolut R (8.1 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.7 to 8.5 mm Hg) and Evolut PRO (6.9 mm Hg; 95% CI: 6.3 to 7.6 mm Hg) compared with the ACURATE (9.6 mm Hg; 95% CI: 8.9 to 10.2 mm Hg) and Portico (8.9 mm Hg; 95% CI: 8.2 to 9.6 mm Hg) groups (p 0.001). Mean indexed effective orifice area was 1.04 cmTranscatheter self-expandable valves showed optimal clinical and echocardiographic results in patients with small aortic annuli, although supra-annular functioning transcatheter heart valves seemed to slightly outperform intra-annular functioning ones. The role of transcatheter aortic valve replacement with self-expandable valves for the treatment of aortic stenosis in patients with small annuli needs to be confirmed in larger trials.

Corn silk is an excellent source of many bioactive compounds, which is well known functional food and traditional herbal medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Novozym 33095 treatment to improve the phytochemical contents and bioactivities in unfertilized corn silk ethanol extracts. Furthermore, the treatment conditions were simultaneously optimized using a response surface methodology with a central composite design. The influence of Novozym 33095 concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time on total polyphenol contents, total flavonoid contents, maysin contents, 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activities, and tyrosinase inhibition was analyzed. The following optimal conditions were determined by simultaneous optimization of several responses with the Derringer’s desirability function using the numerical optimization function of the Design-Expert program: Novozym 33095 concentration 0.11 ml/L, reaction temperature 20°C, and reaction time 120 min. Under these conditions, the predicted values of total polyphenol contents, total flavonoid contents, maysin contents, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, and tyrosinase inhibition were 5462.26 μg GAE/g dried sample, 3932.03 μg QUE/g dried sample, 3213.64 mg/100 g dried sample, 87.57%, and 75.78%, respectively, and the overall desirability (D) was 0.73. Those values of unfertilized corn silk ethanol extracts were 2921.32 μg GAE/100 g dried sample, 1703.69 μg QUE/g dried sample, 801.40 mg/100 g dried sample, 62.34%, and 48.21%, respectively, demonstrating significant improvement from Novozym 33095 treatment.

This study reports the use of erythrocyte ghosts (EG) as a biocompatible nonviral delivery system for extended circulation and prolonged expression of plasmid DNA in the blood. Murine interleukin-2-expressing plasmid DNA was efficiently loaded to EG by electroporation in hypotonic condition. The presence of plasmid DNA in EG was confirmed by fluorescence-labeled plasmid DNA. At 21 min after intravenous administration into mice, the level of plasmid DNA in the blood was 92 000-fold higher following EG-mediated delivery as compared to the injection of naked form. EG-mediated gene delivery revealed higher and more prolonged mRNA expression levels of plasmid DNA in the blood until 9 days after the single intravenous injection. Moreover, plasmid DNA-loaded EG showed gene expression targeted to the blood cells. At 3 days post-dose, substantial expression levels of plasmid DNA delivered in EG were observed only in the blood and not in the other organs. Of the blood cells, the subpopulation containing granulocytes showed higher expression of plasmid DNA than mononuclear cells. These results indicate the potential of EG as a safe, prolonged and blood-targeted delivery system of therapeutic genes.

The role of DNA flow cytometry in the prediction of prognosis for patients with stomach cancer remains to be defined. Thus we studied prospectively the role of DNA flow cytometry as a prognosis indicator in stomach cancer patients in a high-incidence area. Between November 1990 and December 1992, primary stomach cancer tissues were obtained from the surgical specimens from 217 patients (148 male, 69 female). DNA flow cytometric analyses of DNA ploidy and S-phase fraction were performed and the results were correlated with patient survival. The median age of the patients was 55 years (range 24–78). Aneuploid cell population was found in 114 of 217 samples (53%). Tumour S-phase fraction was obtained in 96 of 103 diploid tumours (93%) and 61 of 114 aneuploid tumours (54%). After median follow-up of 66.1 months, the patients with tumours with an S-phase fraction over 17% had significantly worse survival rates than patients with tumours with S-phase fractions of lower than 8% or 8–17% (45% vs 59% and 63% of patients surviving, P = 0.007). Tumour ploidy status did not correlate with patient survival. Multivariate analyses showed that the TNM stage remained the most important prognostic indicator. The tumour S-phase fraction was also an independent prognostic indicator (relative risk 2.300, 95% CI, 1.252–4.223). Tumour S-phase fraction obtained by DNA flow cytometry is an independent prognostic indicator for the survival of the patients with stomach cancer. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign

Objective: The surgical treatments for unilateral cervical radiculopathy have been performed by either the anterior or posterior approach. The anterior approach has usually been used more than the posterior approach. The authors compared the results of newly advanced upper vertebral transcorporeal (UVTC) approach with those of the original transuncal (TU) approach in the anterior approach. Methods: The anterior cervical microforaminotomy was performed for 60 patients (male: female = 40:20) from June, 2000 to October, 2003. 40 patients were treated by the TU approach while 20 patients were operated on by the new UVTC approach. The authors analyzed postoperative changes of disc height, the spinal instability, the average length of hospital stay, the degree of patients' satisfaction and complications from each approach. The mean follow-up period was 9.5 months. Results: In the TU approach, postoperative intervertebral disc height was decreased from 7.1 ±0.65 mm to 6.2 ± 0.61 mm. In the UVTC approach, postoperative intervertebral disc height was decreased from 6.6 ± 0.43 mm to 6.3 ± 0.41 mm. The average length of hospital stay was 5.2 days for the TU approach and 3.4 days for the UVTC approach. In the TU approach, 28 patients experienced excellent results, 11 patients experienced good results, one patient who experienced a fair result was operated by anterior cervical fusion because of a recurrent herniated disc. In the UVTC approach, 16 patients had excellent results and four patients experienced good results. Conclusions: This comparative study demonstrates that the UVTC approach is a better surgical technique than the TU approach considering the preservation of disc height, spinal stability, length of hospital stay, degree of satisfaction and complications.