Delayed hepatocellular carcinoma model for end-stage liver disease exception score improves disparity in access to liver transplant in the United States.

Unlabelled: The current system granting liver transplant candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) additional Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) points is controversial due to geographic disparity and uncertainty regarding optimal prioritization of candidates. The current national policy assigns a MELD exception score of 22 immediately upon listing of eligible patients with HCC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effects of delays in granting these exception points on transplant rates for HCC and non-HCC patients.

Size-dependent high-order harmonic generation in rare-gas clusters.

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) is investigated in rare-gas clusters as a function of the cluster size using 0.8 and 1.3  μm femtosecond lasers.

A critical role for transcription factor Smad4 in T cell function that is independent of transforming growth factor β receptor signaling.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) suppresses T cell function to maintain self-tolerance and to promote tumor immune evasion. Yet how Smad4, a transcription factor component of TGF-β signaling, regulates T cell function remains unclear. Here we have demonstrated an essential role for Smad4 in promoting T cell function during autoimmunity and anti-tumor immunity.

A de novo mutation of the MYH7 gene in a large Chinese family with autosomal dominant myopathy.

Laing distal myopathy (LDM) is an autosomal dominant myopathy that is caused by mutations in the slow/beta cardiac myosin heavy-chain (MYH7) gene. It has been recently reported that LDM presents with a wide range of clinical manifestations. We herein report a large Chinese family with autosomal dominant myopathy.

Identification of 2-aminothiazolobenzazepine metabolites in human, rat, dog, and monkey microsomes by ion-molecule reactions in linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry.

2-Aminothiazolobenzazepine (2-ATBA), 7-[(1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)methyl]-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-[1,3]thiazolo[4,5-h][3]benzazepin-2-amine, is a D2 partial agonist that has demonstrated antipsychotic effects in a rodent in vivo efficacy model. The metabolite profile showed that 2-ATBA is mainly metabolized by oxidation. However, identification of the oxidation site(s) in the 2-aminothiazole group presents a challenge for the traditional metabolite identification methods such as liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and NMR due to the lack of unique tandem mass spectrometry fragmentation patterns for ions with the 2-aminothiazole group oxidized at different sites and the lack of stability for purification or reference standard synthesis.

Evolution of self-assembled ZnTe magic-sized nanoclusters.

Three families of ZnTe magic-sized nanoclusters (MSNCs) were obtained exclusively using polytellurides as a tellurium precursor in a one-pot reaction by simply varying the reaction temperature and time only. Different ZnTe MSNCs exhibit different self-assembling or aggregation behavior, owing to their different structure, cluster size, and dipole-dipole interactions. The smallest family of ZnTe MSNCs (F323) does not reveal a crystalline structure and as a result assembles into lamellar triangle plates.

RNA splicing. The human splicing code reveals new insights into the genetic determinants of disease.

To facilitate precision medicine and whole-genome annotation, we developed a machine-learning technique that scores how strongly genetic variants affect RNA splicing, whose alteration contributes to many diseases. Analysis of more than 650,000 intronic and exonic variants revealed widespread patterns of mutation-driven aberrant splicing. Intronic disease mutations that are more than 30 nucleotides from any splice site alter splicing nine times as often as common variants, and missense exonic disease mutations that have the least impact on protein function are five times as likely as others to alter splicing.

Nucleotide analogue-resistant mutations in hepatitis B viral genomes found in hepatitis B patients.

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs). The reverse transcriptase (RT) region in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome mutates to resist NA treatment, yet the RT mutations have not been well characterized. Furthermore, the HBV genotype might influence RT sequence evolution, NA resistance (NAr) mutation patterns and drug resistance development.

[Efficacy of methylprednisolone therapy for electrical status epilepticus during sleep in children].

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of methylprednisolone for electrical status epilepticus during sleep (ESES) in children.

Method: The clinical and EEG data of 82 epilepsy patients with ESES, which included benign childhood epilepsy with centro temporal spikes (BECT) variants, epilepsy with continuous spikes and waves during slow sleep (CSWS) , Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS) collected from department of pediatrics, Peking University First Hospital were analyzed from July 2007 to September 2012. During ESES period, all patients received methylprednisolone treatment for three courses, which included methylprednisolone intravenous infusion for three days, followed by oral prednisone for four days every time.

Association between serum free fatty acid levels and possible related factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Free fatty acids (FFAs) play importance roles in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. We measured serum FFA levels from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and assay the correlation between serum FFA levels and related factors. The present study was undertaken to investigate a possible relation between the changes in serum free fatty acid concentration with acute myocardial infarction and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

[Clinical outcome of deep sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery].

Objective: To retrospectively evaluate the results of deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after cardiac surgery.

Methods: Between January 2010 and September 2013, 139 patients suffering from DSWI after median sternotomy. The incidence of DSWI was 0.

[Clinical significance of serum fibrosis markers in diagnosis of infantile hepatitis syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the correlation between four serum fibrosis markers and liver function in patients with infantile hepatitis syndrome (IHS), and to explore the clinical significance of these markers in the diagnosis of IHS and the assessment of disease severity.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 60 patients with IHS who were divided into hepatic fibrosis and normal groups based on ultrasound diagnosis. Levels of four liver fibrosis markers, i.

[Hot spot mutation screening of RYR1 gene in diagnosis of congenital myopathies].

Objective: To detect hot spot mutation of RYR1 gene in 15 cases of congenital myopathy with different subtypes, and to discuss the value of RYR1 gene hot spot mutation detection in the diagnosis of the disease.

Methods: Clinical data were collected in all the patients, including clinical manifestations and signs, serum creatine kinase, electromyography. Fourteen of the patients accepted the muscle biopsy.

Enantioselective Synthesis and Profiling of Two Novel Diazabicyclooctanone β-Lactamase Inhibitors.

The enantioselective synthesis of two novel cyclopropane-fused diazabicyclooctanones is reported here. Starting from butadiene monoxide, the key enone intermediate 7 was prepared in six steps. Subsequent stereoselective introduction of the cyclopropane group and further transformation led to compounds 1a and 1b as their corresponding sodium salt.

[Comprehensive treatment of neuroblastoma in children associated with opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of combined modality therapy for neuroblastoma in children associated with opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS-NB).

Method: From May 2011 to December 2013, 6 consecutive patients (4 boys and 2 girls) diagnosed as OMS-NB underwent surgery and chemotherapy in the First Hospital, Peking University. The median age of onset was 19.

The novel helicase helG (DHX30) is expressed during gastrulation in mice and has a structure similar to a human DExH box helicase.

The gene trap method for embryonic stem cells is an efficient method for identifying new genes that are involved in development. Using this method, we identified a novel gene called helicase family gene related to gastrulation (helG). Helicase family proteins regulate many systems in the body that are related to cell survival.

Popularity Modeling for Mobile Apps: A Sequential Approach.

The popularity information in App stores, such as chart rankings, user ratings, and user reviews, provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand user experiences with mobile Apps, learn the process of adoption of mobile Apps, and thus enables better mobile App services. While the importance of popularity information is well recognized in the literature, the use of the popularity information for mobile App services is still fragmented and under-explored. To this end, in this paper, we propose a sequential approach based on hidden Markov model (HMM) for modeling the popularity information of mobile Apps toward mobile App services.

SAR studies on mGlu5 receptor positive allosteric modulators (2003- 2013).

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) is a class C G-protein-coupled receptor which possesses a large extracellular N-terminal domain (ATD) connected to the seven-transmembrane (7-TM) domain. In contrast to the glutamate and its close analogs binding at the orthosteric site on the ATD region, allosteric modulators bind at topographically distinct sites in the 7-TM region. Activation of mGlu5 receptors at either the orthosteric or allosteric sites results in enhancement of NMDA receptor function and represents a promising opportunity for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Dying tumor cells stimulate proliferation of living tumor cells via caspase-dependent protein kinase Cδ activation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal human cancers, and radiotherapy is often implemented for locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Tumor cell repopulation is a major challenge in treating cancers after radiotherapy. In order to address the problem of tumor repopulation, our previous studies have demonstrated that dying cells stimulate the proliferation of living tumor cells after radiotherapy.

Fabrication of low-density GaN/AlN quantum dots via GaN thermal decomposition in MOCVD.

With an appropriate high anneal temperature under H2 atmosphere, GaN quantum dots (QDs) have been fabricated via GaN thermal decomposition in metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Based on the characterization of atomic force microscopy (AFM), the obtained GaN QDs show good size distribution and have a low density of 2.4 × 10(8) cm(-2).

Isolation and characterization of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) from cattle.

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) were isolated from the adult adipose tissue of 2-year-old cattle, and then characterized by immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. We found that primary bADSCs could be expanded for 25 passages. Expression of β-integrin, CD44, and CD73 was observed by immunofluorescence and RT-PCR.

Impact of the rtI187V polymerase substitution of hepatitis B virus on viral replication and antiviral drug susceptibility.

A high prevalence of the rtI187V polymerase substitution of hepatitis B virus (HBV) was detected in nucleoside/nucleotide-analogue-naive and -treated chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. We aimed at assessing the replicative capacity and susceptibility to lamivudine (LAM) and adefovir (ADV) in vitro of HBV harbouring rtI187V alone or in conjunction with LAM- or ADV-resistant mutations. The reverse transcriptase region of HBV isolates was directly sequenced from a cohort of 300 CHB patients from China.

[Study of time characteristics in spectrometer dynamic sampling].

The present paper uses the relationship between sawtooth wave's amplitude and time's linear code to test and analyze a spectrometer. The result shows that the sampling time is associated with the integration time and the sampling interval closely relates with integral time, and the fluctuation range of sampling interval was further explored. This paper provides the reference of the integral time for the analysis focused on spectrum time characteristic, proposes a method to evaluate the dynamic time properties, and contributes to the assessment and application of the dynamic characteristics of the spectrum.

Deep learning of the tissue-regulated splicing code.

Motivation: Alternative splicing (AS) is a regulated process that directs the generation of different transcripts from single genes. A computational model that can accurately predict splicing patterns based on genomic features and cellular context is highly desirable, both in understanding this widespread phenomenon, and in exploring the effects of genetic variations on AS.

Methods: Using a deep neural network, we developed a model inferred from mouse RNA-Seq data that can predict splicing patterns in individual tissues and differences in splicing patterns across tissues.

[Study on concordance of ictal and interictal epileptiform activity in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex].

Objective: To analyze the relationship between the ictal onset zone and dominant interictal epileptiform foci in tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) patients.

Method: Clinical data of 20 patients with TSC which had epileptic seizures during Video-EEG monitoring was assessed. Consistency and dominance of focal interictal epileptiform activity and the ictal onset zone were identified.