Search for heavy resonance decaying into a photon and a Higgs bosonwith the ATLAS detector at the LHC

A search for heavy resonance decaying into a photon and a Higgs boson is performed, where the Higgs boson continually decaying into a pair of b-quarks. Data was collected from 2015 to 2018 using the ATLAS detector at the LHC at the center-of-mass energy of √s= 13 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. To improve the sensitivity of this analysis, a novel H→bb tagger method, Center-of-Mass sub-jet b-tagging algorithm, is implemented to identify the two b-quarks in a single Large-R jet. There is no obvious deviation from the Standard Model prediction. Upper limit is set usingCLsstrategy at 95% confidence level. Compared with previous ATLAS and CMSresult, on top of the statistic gain, more than 30% improvement is observed in the expected upper limit

Roles of circulating soluble interleukin (IL)-6 receptor and IL-6 receptor expression on CD4+ T cells in patients with chronic hepatitis B

SummaryObjectivesThe objective of this study was to investigate the potential clinical roles of circulating soluble interleukin (IL)-6 receptor (sIL-6R) and IL-6R expression on CD4+ T cells (CD4+ IL-6R+ T cells) in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.MethodsOne hundred and thirty-three subjects, including 72 CHB patients, 27 asymptomatic carriers, eight acute hepatitis B (AHB) patients, and 26 healthy donors were included in this study. Plasma IL-6 and sIL-6R levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); the frequency of CD4+ IL-6R+ T cells was detected by flow cytometry analysis.ResultsOur data showed a significant increase in plasma sIL-6R levels and the frequency of CD4+ IL-6R+ T cells in peripheral blood in CHB patients compared to asymptomatic carriers and healthy controls (both p<0.05). The elevated prevalence of CD4+ IL-6R+ T cells was positively associated with increased serum alanine aminotransferase levels in CHB patients (r = 0.316, p = 0.007), but was not correlated with serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA load. Moreover, CHB patients with an HBV DNA load >1.0×106 copies/ml had a lower level of plasma sIL-6R than those with an HBV DNA load <1.0×106 copies/ml.ConclusionsCirculating sIL-6R and CD4+ IL-6R+ T cells were increased in CHB patients. Elevated plasma sIL-6R is probably associated with HBV elimination, and CD4+ IL-6R+ T cells in peripheral blood might contribute to the pathogenesis of liver injury in CHB patients

Focal shift of silicon microlens array in mid-infrared regime

采用严格数值算法对中红外硅微透镜阵列进行了模拟,该微透镜阵列特征尺寸小于波长工作波长.研究发现该微透镜阵列存在一个显著的离焦效应,其离焦量达到0; .4左右,超出了现有的传统理论模型预测范围.对微透镜阵列进行了制作和焦距测试,发现测试结果跟数值模拟基本吻合.微纳衍射光学集成系统中透镜离焦量是; 系统集成非常重要的一个参数,该研究结果为硅微透镜阵列和中红外探测器光学集成提供有效参考.In this study rigorous numerical model was utilized to characterize the focal shift of the diffractive mid infrared (MIR) silicon microlens arrays (MLAs) with the critical size smaller than the working wavelength. We found a more pronounced focal shift in mid-infrared wavelength which is out of the range predicted by existing models. Focal properties of the MLAs were also measured experimentally. The results agrees well with the simulation results. Our results provide a reference point in understanding the focal shift in MIR regime, which is important in terms of deciding the focal length of micro-nano lens systems, especially when dealing with the integration of diffractive devices in infrared optical system.Special Project on the Integration of Industry, Education and Research; of Aviation Industry Corporation of China [CXY2011XD24

Elevated IL-6 Receptor Expression on CD4+ T Cells contributes to the increased Th17 Responses in patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increased numbers of Interleukin-17-producing CD4⁺T cells (Th17) have been found in association with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-induced liver injury. However, the mechanism underlying the increase of Th17 responses in patients with HBV infection remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the possible regulatory mechanisms of increased Th17 responses in patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Th17 response and IL-6R expression on CD4⁺T cells in peripheral blood samples were determined by flow cytometry. Cytokines TGF-β, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-17 in plasma and/or supernatant samples were determined by ELISA and the IL-17 and IL-6R mRNA levels were quantified by quantitative real-time reverse polymerase chain reaction.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All these data indicated that the frequency of periphery Th17 cells is significantly correlated with the percentage of CD4<b>⁺</b>T cells expressing IL-6R in CHB patients. CD4⁺T cells from patients with CHB, but not those from healthy donors, produced higher levels of IL-17 and had more IL-6R expression upon stimulation with the HBV core antigen (HBcAg) in vitro. The PMA/ionomycin and HBcAg -stimulated up-regulation of IL-17 production by CD4⁺T cells could be reversed by a neutralizing antibody against IL-6R.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>we showed that enhancement of IL-6R expression on CD4⁺T cells upon HBV infection contributes to increased Th17 response in patients with CHB.</p

The value of multimodal ultrasound in diagnosis of cervical lymphadenopathy: can real-time elastography help identify benign and malignant lymph nodes?

AimTo investigate the multimodal ultrasound(MMUS) features of cervical lymphadenopathy and to assess its value in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes.MethodsA retrospective analysis of 169 patients with cervical lymph node enlargement who attended Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital from March 2020 to October 2022. All patients underwent conventional ultrasound (CUS), contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), and real-time elastography (RTE), and were divided into training set and validation set. Univariate analysis was applied to screen out statistically significant parameters, and CUS model and MMUS model were constructed by multifactorial logistic regression analysis. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was established, and the area under the curve (AUC) was used to compare CUS model with MMUS model to assess the value of MMUS.ResultsOf the cervical 169 lymph nodes in 169 patients included in the study. The 169 enrolled patients were divided into a training set (132 patients) and a validation set (37 patients). In the training set, univariate analysis showed statistically significant differences in long diameter/short diameter(L/S), border, margin, hilus, dermal medulla boundary, blood flow type, enhancement mode, enhancement type, and RTE score (all p&lt; 0.05). Multifactor logistic analysis showed that L/S, blood flow type, enhancement mode and enhancement type were correlates of malignant lymph nodes (all p&lt; 0.05). The comparison of AUC demonstrated that the discriminative ability of the MMUS model was superior to using the CUS model, both in the training set(p = 0.004) and validation set (p&lt;0.001).ConclusionIn this study, MMUS shows higher diagnostic efficiency than CUS. Ultrasound features such as L/S, blood flow type, mode of enhancement, type of enhancement are helpful in distinguishing benign and malignant lymphadenopathy. The addition of CEUS can greatly improve the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonic diagnosis of malignant cervical lymph nodes. RTE score is of limited value in the diagnosis of malignant cervical lymph nodes

Allele-specific induction of IL-1beta expression by C/EBPbeta and PU.1 contributes to increased tuberculosis susceptibility

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is associated with a spectrum of clinical outcomes, from long-term latent infection to different manifestations of progressive disease. Pro-inflammatory pathways, such as those controlled by IL-1beta, have the contrasting potential both to prevent disease by restricting bacterial replication, and to promote disease by inflicting tissue damage. Thus, the ultimate contribution of individual inflammatory pathways to the outcome of M. tuberculosis infection remains ambiguous. In this study, we identified a naturally-occurring polymorphism in the human IL1B promoter region, which alters the association of the C/EBPbeta and PU.1 transcription factors and controls Mtb-induced IL-1beta production. The high-IL-1beta expressing genotype was associated with the development of active tuberculosis, the severity of pulmonary disease and poor treatment outcome in TB patients. Higher IL-1beta expression did not suppress the activity of IFN-gamma-producing T cells, but instead correlated with neutrophil accumulation in the lung. These observations support a specific role for IL-1beta and granulocytic inflammation as a driver of TB disease progression in humans, and suggest novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis

GWAS Identifies Novel Susceptibility Loci on 6p21.32 and 21q21.3 for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Carriers

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have recently identified KIF1B as susceptibility locus for hepatitis B virus (HBV)–related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To further identify novel susceptibility loci associated with HBV–related HCC and replicate the previously reported association, we performed a large three-stage GWAS in the Han Chinese population. 523,663 autosomal SNPs in 1,538 HBV–positive HCC patients and 1,465 chronic HBV carriers were genotyped for the discovery stage. Top candidate SNPs were genotyped in the initial validation samples of 2,112 HBV–positive HCC cases and 2,208 HBV carriers and then in the second validation samples of 1,021 cases and 1,491 HBV carriers. We discovered two novel associations at rs9272105 (HLA-DQA1/DRB1) on 6p21.32 (OR = 1.30, P = 1.13×$10^{−19}$) and rs455804 (GRIK1) on 21q21.3 (OR = 0.84, P = 1.86×$10^{−8}$), which were further replicated in the fourth independent sample of 1,298 cases and 1,026 controls (rs9272105: OR = 1.25, P = 1.71×$10^{−4}$; rs455804: OR = 0.84, P = 6.92×$10^{−3}$). We also revealed the associations of HLA-DRB1*0405 and 0901*0602, which could partially account for the association at rs9272105. The association at rs455804 implicates GRIK1 as a novel susceptibility gene for HBV–related HCC, suggesting the involvement of glutamate signaling in the development of HBV–related HCC