LDL-Induced Impairment of Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Repair Function Is Reversed by HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibition

Growing human atherosclerotic plaques show a progressive loss of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) becoming soft and vulnerable. Lipid loaded-VSMC show impaired vascular repair function and motility due to changes in cytoskeleton proteins involved in cell-migration. Clinical benefits of statins reducing coronary events have been related to repopulation of vulnerable plaques with VSMC. Here, we investigated whether HMG-CoA reductase inhibition with rosuvastatin can reverse the effects induced by atherogenic concentrations of LDL either in the native (nLDL) form or modified by aggregation (agLDL) on human VSMC motility. Using a model of wound repair, we showed that treatment of human coronary VSMC with rosuvastatin significantly prevented (and reversed) the inhibitory effect of nLDL and agLDL in the repair of the cell depleted areas. In addition, rosuvastatin significantly abolished the agLDL-induced dephosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain as demonstrated by 2DE-electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Besides, confocal microscopy showed that rosuvastatin enhances actin-cytoskeleton reorganization during lipid-loaded-VSMC attachment and spreading. The effects of rosuvastatin on actin-cytoskeleton dynamics and cell migration were dependent on ROCK-signalling. Furthermore, rosuvastatin caused a significant increase in RhoA-GTP in the cytosol of VSMC. Taken together, our study demonstrated that inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase restores the migratory capacity and repair function of VSMC that is impaired by native and aggregated LDL. This mechanism may contribute to the stabilization of lipid-rich atherosclerotic plaques afforded by statins

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Measurement of inclusive and differential cross sections for single top quark production in association with a W boson in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv:2208.00924v2 [hep-ex], https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.00924v2 . Comments: Replaced with the published version. Added the journal reference and the DOI. All the figures and tables, including additional supplementary figures, can be found at https://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/publications/TOP-21-010 (CMS Public Pages). Report number: CMS-TOP-21-010, CERN-EP-2022-158.Measurements of the inclusive and normalised differential cross sections are presented for the production of single top quarks in association with a W boson in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data used were recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC during 2016-2018, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{−1}. Events containing one electron and one muon in the final state are analysed. For the inclusive measurement, a multivariate discriminant, exploiting the kinematic properties of the events is used to separate the signal from the dominant tt¯ background. A cross section of 79.2 ± 0.9 (stat) +7.7−8.0 (syst) ± 1.2 (lumi) pb is obtained, consistent with the predictions of the standard model. For the differential measurements, a fiducial region is defined according to the detector acceptance, and the requirement of exactly one jet coming from the fragmentation of a bottom quark. The resulting distributions are unfolded to particle level and agree with the predictions at next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics.SCOAP3

Azimuthal anisotropy of dijet events in PbPb collisions at √sNN = 5.02TeV

A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv - https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.08325The path-length dependent parton energy loss within the dense partonic medium created in lead-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of √sNN = 5.02TeV is studied by determining the azimuthal anisotropies for dijets with high transverse momentum. The data were collected by the CMS experiment in 2018 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.69nb−1. For events containing back-to back jets, correlations in relative azimuthal angle and pseudorapidity (η) between jets and hadrons, and between two hadrons, are constructed. The anisotropies are expressed as the Fourier expansion coefficients vn, n = 2–4 of these azimuthal distributions. The dijet vn values are extracted from long-range (1.5 < |∆η| < 2.5) components of these correlations, which suppresses the background contributions from jet fragmentation processes. Positive dijet v2 values are observed which increase from central to more peripheral events, while the v3 and v4 values are consistent with zero within experimental uncertainties.SCOAP

Measurement of the cross section of top quark-antiquark pair production in association with a W boson in proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv:2208.06485v2 [hep-ex], https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.06485v2 . Comments: Replaced with the published version. Added the journal reference and the DOI. All the figures and tables, including additional supplementary figures, can be found at https://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/publications/TOP-21-011 (CMS Public Pages). Report number: CMS-TOP-21-011, CERN-EP-2022-168The production of a top quark-antiquark pair in association with a W boson (tt¯W) is measured in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The analyzed data was recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{−1}. Events with two or three leptons (electrons and muons) and additional jets are selected. In events with two leptons, a multiclass neural network is used to distinguish between the signal and background processes. Events with three leptons are categorized based on the number of jets and of jets originating from b quark hadronization, and the lepton charges. The inclusive tt¯W production cross section in the full phase space is measured to be 868 ± 40 (stat) ± 51 (syst) fb. The tt¯W+ and tt¯W− cross sections are also measured as 553 ± 30 (stat) ± 30 (syst) and 343 ± 26 (stat) ± 25 (syst) fb, respectively, and the corresponding ratio of the two cross sections is found to be 1.61 ± 0.15 (stat) +0.07−0.05 (syst). The measured cross sections are larger than but consistent with the standard model predictions within two standard deviations, and represent the most precise measurement of these cross sections to date.SCOAP3

Measurement of the differential tt¯ production cross section as a function of the jet mass and extraction of the top quark mass in hadronic decays of boosted top quarks

Data Availability: This manuscript has no associated data or the data will not be deposited. [Authors’ comment: Release and preservation of data used by the CMS Collaboration as the basis for publications is guided by the CMS policy as stated in https://cms-docdb.cern.ch/cgibin/PublicDocDB/RetrieveFile?docid=6032 &filename=CMSDataPolicyV1.2.pdf &version=2.]A measurement of the jet mass distribution in hadronic decays of Lorentz-boosted top quarks is presented. The measurement is performed in the lepton + jets channel of top quark pair production (tt¯ ) events, where the lepton is an electron or muon. The products of the hadronic top quark decay are reconstructed using a single large-radius jet with transverse momentum greater than 400GeV . The data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138fb−1 . The differential tt¯ production cross section as a function of the jet mass is unfolded to the particle level and is used to extract the top quark mass. The jet mass scale is calibrated using the hadronic W boson decay within the large-radius jet. The uncertainties in the modelling of the final state radiation are reduced by studying angular correlations in the jet substructure. These developments lead to a significant increase in precision, and a top quark mass of 173.06±0.84GeV.SCOAP

Auriculotherapy for Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

OBJECTIVES: Side-effects of standard pain medications can limit their use. Therefore, nonpharmacologic pain relief techniques such as auriculotherapy may play an important role in pain management. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating auriculotherapy for pain management. DESIGN: MEDLINE,(®) ISI Web of Science, CINAHL, AMED, and Cochrane Library were searched through December 2008. Randomized trials comparing auriculotherapy to sham, placebo, or standard-of-care control were included that measured outcomes of pain or medication use and were published in English. Two (2) reviewers independently assessed trial eligibility, quality, and abstracted data to a standardized form. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated for studies using a pain score or analgesic requirement as a primary outcome. RESULTS: Seventeen (17) studies met inclusion criteria (8 perioperative, 4 acute, and 5 chronic pain). Auriculotherapy was superior to controls for studies evaluating pain intensity (SMD, 1.56 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85, 2.26]; 8 studies). For perioperative pain, auriculotherapy reduced analgesic use (SMD, 0.54 [95% CI: 0.30, 0.77]; 5 studies). For acute pain and chronic pain, auriculotherapy reduced pain intensity (SMD for acute pain, 1.35 [95% CI: 0.08, 2.64], 2 studies; SMD for chronic pain, 1.84 [95% CI: 0.60, 3.07], 5 studies). Removal of poor quality studies did not alter the conclusions. Significant heterogeneity existed among studies of acute and chronic pain, but not perioperative pain. CONCLUSIONS: Auriculotherapy may be effective for the treatment of a variety of types of pain, especially postoperative pain. However, a more accurate estimate of the effect will require further large, well-designed trials