Direct measurement of giant electrocaloric effect in BaTiO3 multilayer thick film structure beyond theoretical prediction

The electrocaloric effect of BaTiO3 multilayer thick film structure was investigated by direct measurement and theoretical calculation. The samples were prepared by the tape-casting method, which had 180 dielectric layers with an average thickness of 1.4\mu m. The thermodynamic calculation based on the polarization- temperature curves predicted a peak heat adsorption of 0.32J/g at 80^\circC under 176kV/cm electric field. The direct measurement via differential scanning calorimeter showed a much higher electrocaloric effect of 0.91J/g at 80^\circC under same electric field. The difference could result from the different trends of changes of electric polarization and lattice elastic energy under ultrahigh electric field.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Heavy Supersymmetric Particle Effects in Higgs Boson Production Associated with a Bottom Quark Pair at LHC and Tevatron

If all the supersymmetry particles (sparticles) except a light Higgs boson are too heavy to be directly produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and Tevatron, a possible way to reveal evidence for supersymmetry is through their virtual effects in other processes. We examine such supersymmetric QCD effects in bottom pair production associated with a light Higgs boson at the LHC and Tevatron. We find that if the relevant sparticles (gluinos and squarks) are well above the TeV scale, too heavy to be directly produced, they can still have sizable virtual effects in this process. For large $\tan\beta$, such residual effects can alter the production rate by as much as 40 percent, which should be observable in future measurements of this process.Comment: results for Tevatron added, version in PR

Urea Transporter Physiology Studied in Knockout Mice

In mammals, there are two types of urea transporters; urea transporter (UT)-A and UT-B. The UT-A transporters are mainly expressed in kidney epithelial cells while UT-B demonstrates a broader distribution in kidney, heart, brain, testis, urinary tract, and other tissues. Over the past few years, multiple urea transporter knockout mouse models have been generated enabling us to explore the physiological roles of the different urea transporters. In the kidney, deletion of UT-A1/UT-A3 results in polyuria and a severe urine concentrating defect, indicating that intrarenal recycling of urea plays a crucial role in the overall capacity to concentrate urine. Since UT-B has a wide tissue distribution, multiple phenotypic abnormalities have been found in UT-B null mice, such as defective urine concentration, exacerbated heart blockage with aging, depression-like behavior, and earlier male sexual maturation. This review summarizes the new insights of urea transporter functions in different organs, gleaned from studies of urea transporter knockout mice, and explores some of the potential pharmacological prospects of urea transporters

Galaxy Morphology Classification Using Multi-Scale Convolution Capsule Network

The classification of galaxy morphology is a hot issue in astronomical research. Although significant progress has been made in the last decade in classifying galaxy morphology using deep learning technology, there are still some deficiencies in spatial feature representation and classification accuracy. In this study, we present a multi-scale convolutional capsule network (MSCCN) model for the classification of galaxy morphology. First, this model improves the convolutional layers through using a multi-branch structure to extract multi-scale hidden features of galaxy images. In order to further explore the hidden information in the features, the multi-scale features are encapsulated and fed into the capsule layer. Second, we use a sigmoid function to replace the softmax function in dynamic routing, which can enhance the robustness of MSCCN. Finally, the classification model achieving 97% accuracy, 96% precision, 98% recall, and 97% F1-score under macroscopic averaging. In addition, a more comprehensive model evaluation were accomplished in this study. We visualized the morphological features for the part of sample set, which using the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) algorithm. The results shows that the model has the better generalization ability and robustness, it can be effectively used in the galaxy morphological classification

Notching early repolarization pattern in inferior leads increases risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a meta-analysis.

The aim of this of this meta-analysis was to examine the potential association between certain early repolarization (ER) characteristics and ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTAs) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases for records published until December 2014. Of the 658 initially identified records, 7 studies with a total of 1,565 patients (299 with ER and 1,266 without ER) were finally analyzed. Overall, patients with ER displayed a higher risk of VTAs following AMI compared to patients without ER [odds ratio (OR): 3.75, 95% CI: 2.62-5.37, p \u3c 0.00001]. Subgroup analyses showed that the diagnosis of ER prior to AMI onset is a better predictor of VTAs (OR: 5.70, p \u3c 0.00001) compared to those diagnosed after AMI onset (OR: 2.60, p = 0.00001). Remarkably, a notching morphology was a significant predictor of VTAs compared to slurring morphology (OR: 3.85, p = 0.002). Finally, an inferior ER location (OR: 8.85, p \u3c 0.00001) was significantly associated with increased risk of VTAs in AMI patients. In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that ER pattern is associated with greater risk of VTAs in patients with AMI. A notched ER pattern located in inferior leads confers the highest risk for VTAs in AMI

Identification of a Novel UT-B Urea Transporter in Human Urothelial Cancer

The urea transporter UT-B is widely expressed and has been studied in erythrocyte, kidney, brain and intestines. Interestingly, UT-B gene has been found more abundant in bladder than any other tissue. Recently, gene analyses demonstrate that SLC14A1 (UT-B) gene mutations are associated with bladder cancer, suggesting that urea transporter UT-B may play an important role in bladder carcinogenesis. In this study, we examined UT-B expression in bladder cancer with human primary bladder cancer tissues and cancer derived cell lines. Human UT-B has two isoforms. We found that normal bladder expresses long form of UT-B2 but was lost in 8 of 24 (33%) or significantly downregulated in 16 of 24 (67%) of primary bladder cancer patients. In contrast, the short form of UT-B1 lacking exon 3 was detected in 20 bladder cancer samples. Surprisingly, a 24-nt in-frame deletion in exon 4 in UT-B1 (UT-B1Δ24) was identified in 11 of 20 (55%) bladder tumors. This deletion caused a functional defect of UT-B1. Immunohistochemistry revealed that UT-B protein levels were significantly decreased in bladder cancers. Western blot analysis showed a weak UT-B band of 40 kDa in some tumors, consistent with UT-B1 gene expression detected by RT-PCR. Interestingly, bladder cancer associate UT-B1Δ24 was barely sialylated, reflecting impaired glycosylation of UT-B1 in bladder tumors. In conclusion, SLC14A1 gene and UT-B protein expression are significantly changed in bladder cancers. The aberrant UT-B expression may promote bladder cancer development or facilitate carcinogenesis induced by other carcinogens

Development and application of an antigen capture ELISA assay for diagnosis of Japanese encephalitis virus in swine, human and mosquito

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a serious zoonosis caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) which is a mosquito-borne pathogen of the family <it>Flavivirus</it>. However, the application of several developed laboratory methods for the detection of JEV antigens or antibodies are limited by their requirements of laboratory operations, skilled technicians and special facilities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To develop a method for detecting JEV antigen in swine, human, mosquito and other clinical specimens specifically, conveniently and effectively, an antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was established in this study. Sensitivity, specificity, repeatability and stability of the developed method were evaluated, and 60 clinical samples were tested in this study. The results demonstrated that the antigen capture ELISA was capable in detecting JEV antigen with high sensitivity and specificity compared with conventional methods. 14 samples showed the positive result with coincidence rate of 70%, and 46 displayed negative result with coincidence rate of 100% as compared to that of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The developed ELISA assay provides a convenient and specific method for the large-scale determination of JEV antigen in infected swine, human and mosquito samples with high sensitivity and specificity.</p

Bone-targeting AAV-mediated silencing of Schnurri-3 prevents bone loss in osteoporosis

RNAi-based bone anabolic gene therapy has demonstrated initial success, but many practical challenges are still unmet. Here, we demonstrate that a recombinant adeno-associated virus 9 (rAAV9) is highly effective for transducing osteoblast lineage cells in the bone. The adaptor protein Schnurri-3 (SHN3) is a promising therapeutic target for osteoporosis, as deletion of shn3 prevents bone loss in osteoporotic mice and short-term inhibition of shn3 in adult mice increases bone mass. Accordingly, systemic and direct joint administration of an rAAV9 vector carrying an artificial-microRNA that targets shn3 (rAAV9-amiR-shn3) in mice markedly enhanced bone formation via augmented osteoblast activity. Additionally, systemic delivery of rAAV9-amiR-shn3 in osteoporotic mice counteracted bone loss and enhanced bone mechanical properties. Finally, we rationally designed a capsid that exhibits improved specificity to bone by grafting the bone-targeting peptide motif (AspSerSer)6 onto the AAV9-VP2 capsid protein. Collectively, our results identify a bone-targeting rAAV-mediated gene therapy for osteoporosis

Evaluation of portable colposcopy and human papillomavirus testing for screening of cervical cancer in rural China

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of a portable, rechargeable colposcope combined with human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, as compared with HPV testing alone, for screening of cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study among 488 women in Baoshan County, Yunnan. The women underwent HPV testing followed by Gynocular portable colposcopy with visual inspection with acetic acid. Obvious lesions were biopsied. If portable colposcopy testing was negative but HPV testing was positive, the women underwent follow-up testing with thin-prep cytology and traditional colposcopy. Cervical biopsies were performed for any abnormalities. Histopathology was followed up with diagnosis and treatment. RESULTS: Among 488 women screened with portable colposcopy, 24 women underwent biopsy based on positive colposcopy screening. Of these 24 women, three were HPV positive and 21 were HPV negative. Five women had cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) I and one had advanced cervical cancer. Forty-six women tested positive for HPV. Three of these women had screened positive on preliminary colposcopy, with one positive for CIN III/squamous cell carcinoma and one woman with CIN I. Forty-three women underwent follow-up testing with thin-prep cytology. Two women had atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance and five had low-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions and were biopsied; three women had CIN I, one had CIN II and one had CIN III. HPV testing and portable colposcopy was more sensitive but slightly less specific than portable colposcopy or HPV testing alone. CONCLUSION: While HPV testing has high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions and portable colposcopy has lower specificity, both methods of detection have low positive predictive value and high negative predictive value. In tandem, HPV testing and portable colposcopy had higher sensitivity for detection among women who underwent biopsies. In clinical practice, portable colposcopy was an effective, easy and affordable tool to transport to villages where cytology is not currently feasible

Prognostic value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance in immune checkpoint inhibitor‐associated myocarditis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are increasingly used in the first‐line treatment of malignant tumors. There is increasing recognition of their cardiotoxicity and, in particular, their potential to lead to myocarditis. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can quantify pathological changes, such as myocardial edema and fibrosis. The purpose of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to examine the evidence for the roles of CMR in predicting prognosis in ICI‐associated myocarditis. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched until October 2023 for published works investigating the relationship between CMR parameters and adverse events in patients with ICI‐associated myocarditis. The analysis included studies reporting the incidence of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), T1 values, T2 values, and CMR‐derived left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Odds ratios (OR) and weighted mean differences (WMD) were combined for binary and continuous data, respectively. Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Results: Five cohort studies were included (average age 65–68 years; 25.4% female). Of these, four studies were included in the meta‐analysis of LGE‐related findings. Patients with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) had a higher incidence of LGE compared with patients without MACE (OR = 4.18, 95% CI: 1.72–10.19, p = 0.002). A meta‐analysis, incorporating data from two studies, showed that patients who developed MACE exhibited significantly higher T1 value (WMD = 36.16 ms, 95% CI: 21.43–50.89, p < 0.001) and lower LVEF (WMD = − 8.00%, 95% CI: −13.60 to −2.40, p = 0.005). Notably, T2 value (WMD = −0.23 ms, 95% CI: −1.86 to −1.39, p = 0.779) was not associated with MACE in patients with ICI‐related myocarditis. Conclusions: LGE, T1 value, and LVEF measured by CMR imaging have potential prognostic value for long‐term adverse events in patients with ICI‐related myocarditis