Overview of 2015 International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare held in Chongqing, China

On October 24-25, 2015 International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare (ISAEW2015), jointly sponsored by the International Research Center for Animal Environment and Welfare (IRCAEW) and the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, was convened in Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences (CAAS), Chongqing, China. Prof. Baoming Li from China Agricultural University (CAU) and Distinguished Prof. Hongwei Xin from Iowa State University were the Co-Chairs of ISAEW2015, and Prof. Zuohua Liu from CAAS chaired the Organizing Committee. Prof. Jun Bao, President of Northeast Agriculture University, China, presided over the opening ceremony. Prof. Xiwen Luo, an Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, presented the challenges and shared his thoughts on the sustainable development of animal production industry in China in the opening remarks

Study of (3He, t) charge exchange reactions to isobaric analog states in inverse kinematics

The transition between isobaric analog states (IAS) in the (3He, t) charge exchange reaction presents a unique opportunity to access the isospin structure of the nuclei. In this study not only the Fermi transition but also the Gamow-Teller (G-T) transition of the IAS reaction were investigated for the 13,14C(3He, t) and 17,18,19,20O(3He, t) reactions, in order to explore the neutron number dependence of the IAS reaction for the light neutron-rich nuclei. It was found that the G-T type IAS reaction also exhibited a significant dependence of the transition strength on the neutron number and the angular momentum configuration of the nuclei. Additionally, the inverse kinematics was also discussed for extracting the yields of the interested reaction channels in the proposed experiments on radioactive beams. The calculated triton yields demonstrated the capability of the proposed experiments to obtain meaningful results

Case report and literature review: Giant retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma

BackgroundCystic lymphangioma is a rare benign tumor of the lymphatic system, which is most commonly observed in the neck, head and armpit.Less than 5% of lymphangiomas occur in the abdominal cavity and even less in the retroperitoneum.Case descriptionA 65-year-old male patient was diagnosed with an “abdominal mass that had persisted for 1 year, accompanied by abdominal pain, abdominal distension and dyspnea for 7 days”. After abdominal computerd tomography, a giant multilobed abdominal lymphangioma was suspected, which squeezed the intestinal canal and was closely related to the inferior vena cava. The patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy, during which, it was found that the tumor formed extensive adhesions to the transverse colon, small intestine and pelvic wall, and enveloped the abdominal aorta, superior mesenteric artery, inferior mesenteric artery and inferior vena cava to varying degrees. It was diffcult to remove the cyst completely. Postoperative pathology confirmed the diagnosis of retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma. The patient recovered well after the operation, was eating normally by 5 days postoperatively,and was discharged 10 days postoperatively.The patient was followed up 1 month after postoperatively and no evidence of recurrence was observed.ConclusionIn this case, we report a patient with giant retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma who underwent exploratory laparotomy combined with preoperative abdominal computerd tomography and acute abdominal pain, abdominal distension and dyspnea. Because of the large volume of the tumor and its close relationship with the superior mesenteric artery and other blood vessels, the surgeon used scissors to separate the tumor sharply and removed the whole tumor completely

Tumor regression rate, PD-L1 expression, pembrolizumab/nab-paclitaxel–based regimens, squamous cell carcinoma, and comorbidities were independently associated with efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

BackgroundNeoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy (NCIO) is more effective than neoadjuvant immunotherapy alone for pathological response in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, but the processes for determining patient suitability for its implementation are not clear. We aimed to identify the most relevant factors and build a convenient model to select NSCLC patients who would benefit most from NCIO.Methods We retrospectively collected the clinical data of patients with locally advanced NSCLC who received NCIO followed by surgery at our institution between January 2019 and July 2022.ResultsA total of 101 eligible stage IIB-IIIC NSCLC patients were included. After NCIO, all patients successfully underwent surgical resection. A total of 46.53% (47/101) of patients achieved pathological complete response (pCR), and 70.30% (71/101) achieved major pathologic response (MPR). Tumor regression rate (adjusted odds ratio OR = 12.33), PD-L1 expression (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 9.66), pembrolizumab/nab-paclitaxel–based regimens (adjusted OR = 4.92), and comorbidities (adjusted OR = 0.16) were independently associated with pCR rate (all P < 0.05). Tumor regression rate (adjusted OR = 8.45), PD-L1 expression (adjusted OR = 5.35), and presence of squamous cell carcinoma (adjusted OR = 7.02) were independently associated with MPR rate (all P < 0.05). We established and validated an easy-to-use clinical model to predict pCR (with an area under the curve [AUC] of 0.848) and MPR (with an AUC of 0.847). Of note, the present study showed that CD4+ T-cell count/rate and total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in the peripheral blood of pre-NCIO patients were also significantly correlated with pathological response in univariate analyses.ConclusionsThe tumor regression rate, PD-L1 expression, pembrolizumab/nab-paclitaxel–based regimens, presence of squamous cell carcinoma, and comorbidities were the main influential factors for incidence of pCR/MPR in patients with stage IIB-IIIC NSCLC in the present study. Through predictive models, we can predict who will benefit most from NCIO prior to the emergence of clinical outcomes in locally advanced NSCLC

The role of different types of dopants in 1.3 μm InAs/GaAs quantum-dot lasers

The performance of O-band InAs/GaAs quantum-dot (QD) lasers grown by molecular beam epitaxy with three different doping strategies in the active region are investigated for a temperature range of 17 °C–97 °C. The lasing performance indicates that the n-type doping technique reduced the threshold current density of InAs QD lasers across the full temperature range and narrowed the near field lasing spot. However, for short-cavity lasers, the n-type doped laser switches from ground-state to excited-state lasing at a lower temperature compared to undoped and p-type modulation-doped lasers. In contrast, the p-type modulation-doped lasers have a reduced threshold current density for higher temperatures and for shorter lasers with cavity lengths of 1 mm and belo

Hypofractionated radiotherapy with immunochemotherapy for extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer

IntroductionThe combination of a PD-L1 inhibitor plus carboplatin/cisplatin and etoposide (EC/EP) has become a new standard first-line treatment for extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). Combining concurrent palliative hypofractionated radiotherapy of the thorax (HFRT) and immunochemotherapy may have a synergistic effect. In this study, we explored an optimal model of combination radiotherapy with immunochemotherapy as first-line treatment of ES-SCLC.Patients and methodsIn this multicenter single-arm phase 2 trial, patients with ES-SCLC received atezolizumab with EC/EP for two cycles (induction phase), then, those who did not progress received concurrent palliative HFRT and two cycles of atezolizumab with EC/EP (combination phase). Afterward they received atezolizumab every 3 weeks for a maximum of 2 years after study enrolment (maintenance phase). Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) was recommended. The primary endpoints were safety and tolerance; the second endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS).ResultsForty patients were enrolled, and all had completed palliative HFRT and four cycles of immunochemotherapy. There were seven grade 3 adverse events (3 decreased neutrophil count, 1 anemia, 2 pneumonitis, 1 esoenteritis), two grade 4 adverse events (2 decreased white cell count) and no grade 5 toxicities. The pneumonitis rate was 12.5% (three grade 2 and two grade 3 events). At the median follow-up of 14.2 months (range, 6.8–28.7), the median PFS was 8.6 months (95%CI, 6.1–11.1).ConclusionThe addition of concurrent hypofractionated thoracic radiotherapy to first-line immunochemotherapy for ES-SCLC was well tolerated and showed promising clinical efficacy. Additional randomized trials are needed to validate benefits.Clinical trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ (NCT 04636762)

High LUMO energy level C60(OCH3)4 derivatives:Electronic acceptors for photovoltaiccellswithhigheropen-circuitvoltage

E-mail Addresses: [email protected] regioselective C-60(OCH3)(4) derivatives, C-60(OCH3)(4)-PCBM (a methanofullerene derivative of C-60(OCH3)(4), PCBM=[6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester) and C-60(OCH3)(4)-APCBM (an aziridinofullerene derivative of C-60(OCH3)(4)) were synthesized from C60Cl6 and used as acceptor for polymer solar cells. Revealed by cyclic voltammetry, the LUMO energy levels of C-60(OCH3)4-APCBM and C-60(OCH3)(4)-PCBM are 0.2 and 0.3 eV higher than that of PCBM, respectively. For the polymer photovoltaic cells with fullerene (PCBM, C-60(OCH3)(4)-APCBM or C-60(OCH3)(4)-PCBM) acceptor in combination with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) donor, the open-circuit voltage is increased from 0.58 V (for PCBM) to 0.63 V (for C-60(OCH3)(4)-APCBm) and 0.72 V (for C-60(OCH3)(4)-PCBM). The higher open-circuit voltages are reasonably attributed to the higher LUMO levels of the C-60(OCH3)(4) derivatives because of four electron-donating methoxy groups attached. The photovoltaic performance of C-60(OCH3)(4)-PCBMbased device is higher than that involving C-60(OCH3)(4)-APCBM, largely due to the structural changeability of C-60(OCH3)(4)-APCBM resulting from the rotatable N-C bond bridge therein. This work demonstrates that fullerene derivatives with higher LUMO level can be functionalized from multiaddition of electron-donating groups, and exemplifies that photovoltaic performances of fullerene-based solar cells are sensitive even to trivial bridge between functional group and fullerene core. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved .National Nature Science Foundation of China U1205111 21031004 21021061 J1210014 20923004 National Basic Research 973 Program of China 2011CB93590

Histone Acetylation and Its Modifiers in the Pathogenesis of Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide despite advances in its prevention and management. A comprehensive understanding of factors contributing to DN is required to develop more effective therapeutic options. It is becoming more evident that histone acetylation (HAc), as one of the epigenetic mechanisms, is thought to be associated with the etiology of diabetic vascular complications such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), and DN. Histone acetylases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) are the well-known regulators of reversible acetylation in the amino-terminal domains of histone and nonhistone proteins. In DN, however, the roles of histone acetylation (HAc) and these enzymes are still controversial. Some new evidence has revealed that HATs and HDACs inhibitors are renoprotective in cellular and animal models of DN, while, on the other hand, upregulation of HAc has been implicated in the pathogenesis of DN. In this review, we focus on the recent advances on the roles of HAc and their covalent enzymes in the development and progression of DN in certain cellular processes including fibrosis, inflammation, hypertrophy, and oxidative stress and discuss how targeting these enzymes and their inhibitors can ultimately lead to the therapeutic approaches for treating DN