Superconducting phase diagram of HS under high magnetic fields.

The discovery of superconductivity at 260 K in hydrogen-rich compounds like LaH re-invigorated the quest for room temperature superconductivity. Here, we report the temperature dependence of the upper critical fields μH(T) of superconducting HS under a record-high combination of applied pressures up to 160 GPa and fields up to 65 T. We find that H(T) displays a linear dependence on temperature over an extended range as found in multigap or in strongly-coupled superconductors, thus deviating from conventional Werthamer, Helfand, and Hohenberg (WHH) formalism.

Gemcitabine and Cisplatin Induction Chemotherapy in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Background: Platinum-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the standard of care for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Additional gemcitabine and cisplatin induction chemotherapy has shown promising efficacy in phase 2 trials.

Methods: In a parallel-group, multicenter, randomized, controlled, phase 3 trial, we compared gemcitabine and cisplatin as induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy with concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone.

Interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase (IRAK)-M -mediated type 2 microglia polarization ameliorates the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) play a key role in activating the innate immune system during pathogen recognition. In the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), activated TLR4 together with myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) produce an inflammatory microenvironment that promotes the differentiation of microglia into the M1 phenotype, who plays a key role in the pathogenesis of MS. Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK)-M is specifically expressed in microglia in central nervous system (CNS) and act as a negative regulator of TLR4-MyD88 signaling pathway.

Multi-platform discovery of haplotype-resolved structural variation in human genomes.

The incomplete identification of structural variants (SVs) from whole-genome sequencing data limits studies of human genetic diversity and disease association. Here, we apply a suite of long-read, short-read, strand-specific sequencing technologies, optical mapping, and variant discovery algorithms to comprehensively analyze three trios to define the full spectrum of human genetic variation in a haplotype-resolved manner. We identify 818,054 indel variants (<50 bp) and 27,622 SVs (≥50 bp) per genome.

Suppression of lncRNA RMRP ameliorates oxygen-glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation-induced neural cells injury by inhibiting autophagy and PI3K/Akt/mTOR-mediated apoptosis.

The aberrant expression of lncRNAs has been inferred to be closely related with the progression of neural ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. RMRP is an lncRNA associated with I/R injury. In order to determine the role of RMRP in I/R injury, the effects of RMRP knockdown on oxygen-glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation (OGD/R)-induced injury in SH-SY5Y cells were evaluated.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Level of Soluble CD27 Is Associated with Disease Severity in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder.

Object: CD27 belongs to the tumor necrosis factor receptor family and is constitutively expressed on T cells. The concentration of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) soluble (s)CD27 is elevated in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, whether the level of CSF sCD27 is elevated in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) remains unknown.

Transcriptome and Comparative Genomics Analyses Reveal New Functional Insights on Key Determinants of Pathogenesis and Interbacterial Competition in and spp.

Soft-rot (SRE), typified by and genera, are phytopathogenic bacteria inflicting soft-rot disease in crops worldwide. By combining genomic information from 100 SRE with whole-transcriptome data sets, we identified novel genomic and transcriptional associations among key pathogenicity themes in this group. Comparative genomics revealed solid linkage between the type I secretion system (T1SS) and the carotovoricin bacteriophage (Ctv) conserved in 96.

Benefit and Risk of Prolonged DAPT After Coronary Stenting in Women.

Background: Women may derive differential benefit from prolonged DAPT (dual antiplatelet therapy) after coronary stenting than men. We assessed whether the risks/benefits of prolonged DAPT differ between women and men.

Methods And Results: The DAPT study was a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing continued thienopyridine versus placebo beyond 12 months after coronary stenting.

ENSO Drives interannual variation of forest woody growth across the tropics.

Meteorological extreme events such as El Niño events are expected to affect tropical forest net primary production (NPP) and woody growth, but there has been no large-scale empirical validation of this expectation. We collected a large high-temporal resolution dataset (for 1-13 years depending upon location) of more than 172 000 stem growth measurements using dendrometer bands from across 14 regions spanning Amazonia, Africa and Borneo in order to test how much month-to-month variation in stand-level woody growth of adult tree stems (NPP) can be explained by seasonal variation and interannual meteorological anomalies. A key finding is that woody growth responds differently to meteorological variation between tropical forests with a dry season (where monthly rainfall is less than 100 mm), and aseasonal wet forests lacking a consistent dry season.

Depression and chronic diseases: Co-occurrence and communality of risk factors.

Background: The aim of current study is to assess the cross-sectional association of chronic non-communicable diseases (diabetes mellitus, arthritis, asthma, chronic lung disease, angina, and stroke) with both diagnosed and undiagnosed depression in the World Health Organization (WHO) Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 1, a study of adults in six low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: A total of 41,810 participants, aged ≥ 18 years, were included. Depression status was assessed by standard methods derived from the World Mental Health Survey (WHH-CIDI).

Elevated soluble syndecan-1 levels in neuromyelitis optica are associated with disease severity.

Syndecan-1 (SDC-1) is a transmembrane member that has a profound influence on the resolution of inflammation. Soluble syndecan-1 (sSDC-1) levels have been shown to increase in many inflammatory diseases. However, it remains unknown whether sSDC-1 concentration is elevated in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Factors Correlated with Success Rate of Outpatient Smoking Cessation Services in Taiwan.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. The purpose of this study was to explore the patient’s and physician’s factors that are correlated with smoking cessation success rate. A total of 877 smokers who visited the outpatient smoking cessation services at a medical center in Northern Taiwan were recruited for the study.

Thermodynamic analysis of a gamma type Stirling engine in an energy recovery system.

The demand for better hygiene has increased the need for developing more effective sanitation systems and facilities for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces. Non-Sewered Sanitary systems are considered to be one of the promising alternative solutions to the existing flush toilet system. An example of these systems is the Nano Membrane Toilet (NMT) system being developed at Cranfield University, which targets the safe disposal of human waste while generating power and recovering water.

Elevated neuron-specific enolase and S100 calcium-binding protein B concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis.

Background: Anti‑N‑methyl‑d‑aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a relatively common autoimmune neurological disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) are structural proteins of the central nervous system (CNS). In patients with CNS injury accompanied by nervous tissue and cellular damage, these structural proteins are released from cells; their extracellular concentrations, including those in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood, subsequently increase.

Impact of Clopidogrel Therapy on Mortality and Cancer in Patients With Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease: A Patient-Level Meta-Analysis.

Background: Clinical trial data associate extended clopidogrel therapy with increased mortality and cancer. We sought to determine the impact of continued clopidogrel use on mortality and cancer within a patient-level meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Methods And Results: Meta-analytic clinical event rates for all-cause, cardiovascular, noncardiovascular, and cancer-related mortality; cancer; myocardial infarction; stroke; and fatal and major nonfatal bleeding were generated using patient-level data from 6 randomized trials comparing prolonged versus no or short-duration clopidogrel on a background of aspirin in patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.

Cerebrospinal fluid pentraxin 3 and CD40 ligand in anti-N-menthyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis.

Anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system whose pathogenesis involves interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-17A. We examined the correlations between CSF concentrations of the acute-phase protein pentraxin 3 (PTX3), the chronic inflammatory mediator CD40L, IL-6, and IL-17A in anti-NMDAR encephalitis, and the impact on clinical outcome. PTX3, CD40L, IL-6, and IL-17A were significantly higher in the CSF of patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis than in controls.

Drastic Effect of the Peptide Sequence on the Copper-Binding Properties of Tripeptides and the Electrochemical Behaviour of Their Copper(II) Complexes.

The binding and electrochemical properties of the complexes Cu -HAH, Cu -HWH, Cu -Ac-HWH, Cu -HHW, and Cu -WHH have been studied by using NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopies, CV, and density functional calculations. The results obtained highlight the importance of the peptidic sequence on the coordination properties and, consequently, on the redox properties of their Cu complexes. For Cu -HAH and Cu -HWH, no cathodic processes are observed up to -1.

TPL2 (Therapeutic Targeting Tumor Progression Locus-2)/ATF4 (Activating Transcription Factor-4)/SDF1α (Chemokine Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-α) Axis Suppresses Diabetic Retinopathy.

Rationale: Diabetic retinopathy is characterized by vasopermeability, vascular leakage, inflammation, blood-retinal barrier breakdown, capillary degeneration, and neovascularization. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between diabetes mellitus and progression retinopathy remain unclear.

Objective: TPL2 (tumor progression locus 2), a serine-threonine protein kinase, exerts a pathological effect on vascular angiogenesis.

Genetic and Pharmacologic Inactivation of ANGPTL3 and Cardiovascular Disease.

Background: Loss-of-function variants in the angiopoietin-like 3 gene (ANGPTL3) have been associated with decreased plasma levels of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. It is not known whether such variants or therapeutic antagonism of ANGPTL3 are associated with a reduced risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Methods: We sequenced the exons of ANGPTL3 in 58,335 participants in the DiscovEHR human genetics study.

Clinical audit of ectopic pregnancy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors of ectopic pregnancy in cases presented to the Woman's Health Hospital (WHH) in Assuit University, and to perform clinical audit on strategies for management of ectopic pregnancy in the WHH.

Methods: This descriptive hospital based study was conducted at the Woman's Health Hospital (WHH) of Assuit University (Egypt). There were 210 patients who were admitted to the WHH with the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in the period between February 1, 2015 through the end of October 2015.

Two-band and pauli-limiting effects on the upper critical field of 112-type iron pnictide superconductors.

The temperature dependence of upper critical field μH of CaLaFeAs and CaLaFeCoAs single crystals are investigated by measuring the resistivity for the inter-plane (H//c) and in-plane (H//ab) directions in magnetic fields up to 60 T. It is found that μH(T) of both crystals for H//c presents a sublinear temperature dependence with decreasing temperature, whereas the curve of μH(T) for H//ab has a convex curvature and gradually tends to saturate at low temperatures. μH(T) in both crystals deviates from the conventional Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg (WHH) theoretical model without considering spin paramagnetic effect for H//c and H//ab directions.

Genome-Wide Association Study Meta-Analysis of Long-Term Average Blood Pressure in East Asians.

Background: Genome-wide single marker and gene-based meta-analyses of long-term average (LTA) blood pressure (BP) phenotypes may reveal novel findings for BP.

Methods And Results: We conducted genome-wide analysis among 18 422 East Asian participants (stage 1) followed by replication study of ≤46 629 participants of European ancestry (stage 2). Significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms and genes were determined by a <5.

Impact of weight loss on waist circumference and the components of the metabolic syndrome.

Objective: Central adiposity is a component of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Little is known about the impact of medical weight loss and decreased waist circumference (WC) on the MetS. Our objective was to assess the impact of changes in WC on blood pressure, lipids and glycemia.

Association of uremic pruritus in hemodialysis patients with the number of days of high mean 24-hour particulate matter with a diameter of <2.5 μm.

Uremic pruritus (UP) is a common and incapacitating symptom in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). The pathogenesis of UP is multifactorial and complex. Particulate matter (PM), a major air pollutant, is a mixture of particles with various chemical compositions.

Myocardial Infarction Risk After Discontinuation of Thienopyridine Therapy in the Randomized DAPT Study (Dual Antiplatelet Therapy).

Background: Thienopyridine plus aspirin beyond 1 year after coronary stenting reduces myocardial infarction (MI) risk and increases bleeding risk in comparison with aspirin alone. The hazard associated with late thienopyridine discontinuation and risk factors for MI after discontinuation are poorly defined.

Methods: In the DAPT Study (Dual Antiplatelet Therapy), after percutaneous coronary intervention and 12 months of thienopyridine (clopidogrel or prasugrel) plus aspirin, eligible patients remained on aspirin and were randomly assigned to continued thienopyridine versus placebo for 18 months.