Search for Higgs Boson and Observation of Z Boson through Their Decay into a Charm Quark-Antiquark Pair in Boosted Topologies in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search for the standard model (SM) Higgs boson (H) produced with transverse momentum (p_{T}) greater than 450 GeV and decaying to a charm quark-antiquark (cc[over ¯]) pair is presented. The search is performed using proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt[s]=13  TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1}. Boosted H→cc[over ¯] decay products are reconstructed as a single large-radius jet and identified using a deep neural network charm tagging technique.

Genome-wide identification and expression pattern analysis of R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene family involved in puerarin biosynthesis and response to hormone in Pueraria lobata var. thomsonii.

Background: R2R3-MYB transcription factors regulate secondary metabolism, stress responses and development in various plants. Puerarin is a bioactive ingredient and most abundant secondary metabolite isolated from Pueraria lobata. The biosynthesis of puerarin proceeds via the phenylpropanoid pathway and isoflavonoids pathway, in which 9 key enzymes are involved.

Rethinking Annotation Granularity for Overcoming Shortcuts in Deep Learning-based Radiograph Diagnosis: A Multicenter Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of fine-grained annotations to overcome shortcut learning in deep learning (DL)-based diagnosis using chest radiographs.

Materials And Methods: Two DL models were developed using radiograph-level annotations (disease present: yes or no) and fine-grained lesion-level annotations (lesion bounding boxes), respectively named CheXNet and CheXDet. A total of 34 501 chest radiographs obtained from January 2005 to September 2019 were retrospectively collected and annotated regarding cardiomegaly, pleural effusion, mass, nodule, pneumonia, pneumothorax, tuberculosis, fracture, and aortic calcification.

AAV capsid engineering identified two novel variants with improved in vivo tropism for cardiomyocytes.

AAV vectors are promising delivery tools for human gene therapy. However, broad tissue tropism and pre-existing immunity against natural serotypes limit their clinical use. We identified two AAV capsid variants, AAV2-THGTPAD and AAV2-NLPGSGD, by in vivo AAV2 peptide display library screening in a murine model of pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Acupuncture for Quality of Life in Gastric Cancer Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Context: Patients with gastric cancer experience health-related quality of life (HRQOL) decline during adjuvant chemotherapy following gastrectomy.

Objectives: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the preliminary effect and feasibility of electro-acupuncture (EA) for HRQOL and symptom burden in these patients.

Methods: In this open-label, multicenter, parallel controlled trial, gastric cancer patients who planned to receive adjuvant chemotherapy were randomly assigned to receive high-dose EA (seven times each chemotherapy cycle for three cycles), low-dose EA (three times each chemotherapy cycle), or usual care only.

Minimal Essential Human Factor VIII Alterations Enhance Secretion and Gene Therapy Efficiency.

One important limitation for achieving therapeutic expression of human factor VIII (FVIII) in hemophilia A gene therapy is inefficient secretion of the FVIII protein. Substitution of five amino acids in the A1 domain of human FVIII with the corresponding porcine FVIII residues generated a secretion-enhanced human FVIII variant termed B-domain-deleted (BDD)-FVIII-X5 that resulted in 8-fold higher FVIII activity levels in the supernatant of an cell-based assay system than seen with unmodified human BDD-FVIII. Analysis of purified recombinant BDD-FVIII-X5 and BDD-FVIII revealed similar specific activities for both proteins, indicating that the effect of the X5 alteration is confined to increased FVIII secretion.

Measurements of tt[over ¯]H Production and the CP Structure of the Yukawa Interaction between the Higgs Boson and Top Quark in the Diphoton Decay Channel.

The first observation of the tt[over ¯]H process in a single Higgs boson decay channel with the full reconstruction of the final state (H→γγ) is presented, with a significance of 6.6 standard deviations (σ). The CP structure of Higgs boson couplings to fermions is measured, resulting in an exclusion of the pure CP-odd structure of the top Yukawa coupling at 3.

Establishment of a Pig Influenza Challenge Model for Evaluation of Monoclonal Antibody Delivery Platforms.

mAbs are a possible adjunct to vaccination and drugs in treatment of influenza virus infection. However, questions remain whether small animal models accurately predict efficacy in humans. We have established the pig, a large natural host animal for influenza, with many physiological similarities to humans, as a robust model for testing mAbs.

Silencing of STAT3 via Peptidomimetic LNP-Mediated Systemic Delivery of RNAi Downregulates PD-L1 and Inhibits Melanoma Growth.

Cutaneous melanoma is the most aggressive skin cancer with notorious drug resistance. Inhibition of immune checkpoint molecules is one of the most promising approaches for cancer therapy. Herein, we show that RNAi mediated silencing of STAT3 expression in the tumor tissue robustly inhibit tumor growth in B16F10 mouse model of melanoma.

Natural Compound Library Screening Identifies New Molecules for the Treatment of Cardiac Fibrosis and Diastolic Dysfunction.

Background: Myocardial fibrosis is a hallmark of cardiac remodeling and functionally involved in heart failure development, a leading cause of deaths worldwide. Clinically, no therapeutic strategy is available that specifically attenuates maladaptive responses of cardiac fibroblasts, the effector cells of fibrosis in the heart. Therefore, our aim was to develop novel antifibrotic therapeutics based on naturally derived substance library screens for the treatment of cardiac fibrosis.

The Association between FLAIR Vascular Hyperintensity and Stroke Outcome Varies with Time from Onset.

Background And Purpose: FLAIR vascular hyperintensity has been recognized as a marker of collaterals in ischemic stroke, but the impact on outcome is still controversial. We hypothesized that the association between FLAIR vascular hyperintensity and outcome varies with time.

Materials And Methods: We included 459 consecutive patients with middle cerebral artery stroke and divided them into 3 groups by symptom-to-MR imaging time (group 1, ≤7 days; group 2, 8-14 days; group 3, ≥15 days).

Comparative physiology and transcriptome analysis allows for identification of lncRNAs imparting tolerance to drought stress in autotetraploid cassava.

Background: Polyploidization, pervasive among higher plant species, enhances adaptation to water deficit, but the physiological and molecular advantages need to be investigated widely. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in drought tolerance in various crops.

Results: Herein, we demonstrate that tetraploidy potentiates tolerance to drought stress in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz).

Tobacco-Related Alterations in Airway Gene Expression are Rapidly Reversed Within Weeks Following Smoking-Cessation.

The physiologic response to tobacco smoke can be measured by gene-expression profiling of the airway epithelium. Temporal resolution of kinetics of gene-expression alterations upon smoking-cessation might delineate distinct biological processes that are activated during recovery from tobacco smoke exposure. Using whole genome gene-expression profiling of individuals initiating a smoking-cessation attempt, we sought to characterize the kinetics of gene-expression alterations in response to short-term smoking-cessation in the nasal epithelium.

Loss of HDAC6 alters gut microbiota and worsens obesity.

Alterations in gut microbiota are known to affect intestinal inflammation and obesity. Antibiotic treatment can affect weight gain by elimination of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor-producing microbes, which are anti-inflammatory by augmenting regulatory T (T) cells. We asked whether mice that lack HDAC6 and have potent suppressive T cells are protected from microbiota-induced accelerated weight gain.

Comparing the measured basal metabolic rates in patients with chronic disorders of consciousness to the estimated basal metabolic rate calculated from common predictive equations.

Background: Accurately predicting the basal metabolic rate (BMR) of patients in a vegetative state (VS) or minimally conscious state (MCS) is critical to proper nutritional therapy, but commonly used equations have not been shown to be accurate. Therefore, we compared the BMR measured by indirect calorimetry (IC) to BMR values estimated using common predictive equations in VS and MCS patients.

Methods: Body composition variables were measured using the bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) technique.

Research Resource: Hormones, Genes, and Athleticism: Effect of Androgens on the Avian Muscular Transcriptome.

Male vertebrate social displays vary from physically simple to complex, with the latter involving exquisite motor command of the body and appendages. Studies of these displays have, in turn, provided substantial insight into neuromotor mechanisms. The neotropical golden-collared manakin (Manacus vitellinus) has been used previously as a model to investigate intricate motor skills because adult males of this species perform an acrobatic and androgen-dependent courtship display.

Fibroblast growth factor-2 isoform (low molecular weight/18 kDa) overexpression in preosteoblast cells promotes bone regeneration in critical size calvarial defects in male mice.

Repair of bone defects remains a significant clinical problem. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) is US Food and Drug Administration-approved for fracture healing but is expensive and has associated morbidity. Studies have shown that targeted overexpression of the 18-kDa low-molecular-weight fibroblast growth factor 2 isoform (LMW) by the osteoblastic lineage of transgenic mice increased bone mass.