Superconductivity in HfTe5 across weak to strong topological insulator transition induced via pressures

Recently, theoretical studies show that layered HfTe5 is at the boundary of weak & strong topological insulator (TI) and might crossover to a Dirac semimetal state by changing lattice parameters. The topological properties of 3D stacked HfTe5 are expected hence to be sensitive to pressures tuning. Here, we report pressure induced phase evolution in both electronic & crystal structures for HfTe5 with a culmination of pressure induced superconductivity. Our experiments indicated that the temperature for anomaly resistance peak (Tp) due to Lifshitz transition decreases first before climbs up to a maximum with pressure while the Tp minimum corresponds to the transition from a weak TI to strong TI. The HfTe5 crystal becomes superconductive above ~5.5 GPa where the Tp reaches maximum. The highest superconducting transition temperature (Tc) around 5 K was achieved at 20 GPa. Crystal structure studies indicate that HfTe5 transforms from a Cmcm phase across a monoclinic C2/m phase then to a P-1 phase with increasing pressure. Based on transport, structure studies a comprehensive phase diagram of HfTe5 is constructed as function of pressure. The work provides valuable experimental insights into the evolution on how to proceed from a weak TI precursor across a strong TI to superconductors

International expert consensus on the management of bleeding during VATS lung surgery

Intraoperative bleeding is the most crucial safety concern of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for a major pulmonary resection. Despite the advances in surgical techniques and devices, intraoperative bleeding is still not rare and remains the most common and potentially fatal cause of conversion from VATS to open thoracotomy. Therefore, to guide the clinical practice of VATS lung surgery, we proposed the International Interest Group on Bleeding during VATS Lung Surgery with 65 experts from 10 countries in the field to develop this consensus document. The consensus was developed based on the literature reports and expert experience from different countries. The causes and incidence of intraoperative bleeding were summarised first. Seven situations of intraoperative bleeding were collected based on clinical practice, including the bleeding from massive vessel injuries, bronchial arteries, vessel stumps, and bronchial stumps, lung parenchyma, lymph nodes, incisions, and the chest wall. The technical consensus for the management of intraoperative bleeding was achieved on these seven surgical situations by six rounds of repeated revision. Following expert consensus statements were achieved: (I) Bleeding from major vascular injuries: direct compression with suction, retracted lung, or rolled gauze is useful for bleeding control. The size and location of the vascular laceration are evaluated to decide whether the bleeding can be stopped by direct compression or by ligation. If suturing is needed, the suction-compressing angiorrhaphy technique (SCAT) is recommended. Timely conversion to thoracotomy with direct compression is required if the operator lacks experience in thoracoscopic angiorrhaphy. (II) Bronchial artery bleeding: pre-emptive clipping of bronchial artery before bronchial dissection or lymph node dissection can reduce the incidence of bleeding. Bronchial artery bleeding can be stopped by compression with the suction tip, followed by the handling of the vascular stump with energy devices or clips. (III) Bleeding from large vessel stumps and bronchial stumps: bronchial stump bleeding mostly comes from accompanying bronchial artery, which can be clipped for hemostasis. Compression for hemostasis is usually effective for bleeding at the vascular stump. Otherwise, additional use of hemostatic materials, re-staple or a suture may be necessary. (IV) Bleeding from the lung parenchyma: coagulation hemostasis is the first choice. For wounds with visible air leakage or an insufficient hemostatic effect of coagulation, suturing may be necessary. (V) Bleeding during lymph node dissection: non-grasping en-bloc lymph node dissection is recommended for the nourishing vessels of the lymph node are addressed first with this technique. If bleeding occurs at the site of lymph node dissection, energy devices can be used for hemostasis, sometimes in combination with hemostatic materials. (VI) Bleeding from chest wall incisions: the chest wall incision(s) should always be made along the upper edge of the rib(s), with good hemostasis layer by layer. Recheck the incision for hemostasis before closing the chest is recommended. (VII) Internal chest wall bleeding: it can usually be managed with electrocoagulation. For diffuse capillary bleeding with the undefined bleeding site, compression of the wound with gauze may be helpful

Milk and dairy products: good or bad for human health? An assessment of the totality of scientific evidence

Background: There is scepticism about health effects of dairy products in the public, which is reflected in an increasing intake of plant-based drinks, for example, from soy, rice, almond, or oat. Objective: This review aimed to assess the scientific evidence mainly from meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised controlled trials, on dairy intake and risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and all-cause mortality. Results: The most recent evidence suggested that intake of milk and dairy products was associated with reduced risk of childhood obesity. In adults, intake of dairy products was shown to improve body composition and facilitate weight loss during energy restriction. In addition, intake of milk and dairy products was associated with a neutral or reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly stroke. Furthermore, the evidence suggested a beneficial effect of milk and dairy intake on bone mineral density but no association with risk of bone fracture. Among cancers, milk and dairy intake was inversely associated with colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, gastric cancer, and breast cancer, and not associated with risk of pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, or lung cancer,while the evidence for prostate cancer risk was inconsistent.Finally,consumption of milk and dairy products was not associated with all-cause mortality. Calcium-fortified plant-based drinks have been included as an alternative to dairy products in the nutrition recommendations in several countries. However, nutritionally, cow’s milk and plant-based drinks are completely different foods,and an evidence-based conclusion on the health value of the plant-based drinks requires more studies in humans. Conclusion: The totality of available scientific evidence supports that intake of milk and dairy products contribute to meet nutrient recommendations, and may protect against the most prevalent chronic diseases, whereas very few adverse effects have been reported

SATB1 Mediates Long-Range Chromatin Interactions: A Dual Regulator of Anti-Apoptotic BCL2 and Pro-Apoptotic NOXA Genes

We thank Ms. Kathy Kyler for her kind help in English editing of the manuscript.Aberrant expression of special AT-rich binding protein 1 (SATB1), a global genomic organizer, has been associated with various cancers, which raises the question of how higher-order chromatin structure contributes to carcinogenesis. Disruption of apoptosis is one of the hallmarks of cancer. We previously demonstrated that SATB1 mediated specific long-range chromosomal interactions between the mbr enhancer located within 3’-UTR of the BCL2 gene and the promoter to regulate BCL2 expression during early apoptosis. In the present study, we used chromosome conformation capture (3C) assays and molecular analyses to further investigate the function of the SATB1-mediated higher-order chromatin structure in co-regulation of the anti-apoptotic BCL2 gene and the pro-apoptotic NOXA gene located 3.4Mb downstream on Chromosome 18. We demonstrated that the mbr enhancer spatially juxtaposed the promoters of BCL2 and NOXA genes through SATB1-mediated chromatin-loop in Jurkat cells. Decreased SATB1 levels switched the mbr-BCL2 loop to mbr-NOXA loop, and thus changed expression of these two genes. The SATB1-mediated dynamic switch of the chromatin loop structures was essential for the cooperative expression of the BCL2 and NOXA genes in apoptosis. Notably, the role of SATB1 was specific, since inhibition of SATB1 degradation by caspase-6 inhibitor or caspase-6-resistant SATB1 mutant reversed expression of BCL-2 and NOXA in response to apoptotic stimulation. This study reveals the critical role of SATB1-organized higher-order chromatin structure in regulating the dynamic equilibrium of apoptosis-controlling genes with antagonistic functions and suggests that aberrant SATB1 expression might contribute to cancer development by disrupting the co-regulated genes in apoptosis pathways.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee

The clinical pathological characteristics and prognosis of FGFR1 gene amplification in non-small-cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis

Fa-Jun Xie,1,2 Hong-Yang Lu,1,3 Qiu-Qing Zheng,3 Jing Qin,1,3 Yun Gao,3 Yi-Ping Zhang,1,3 Xun Hu,2 Wei-Min Mao3,4 1Department of Medical Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, 2Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory for Cancer Intervention and Prevention, China National Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine,3Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment Technology on Thoracic Oncology (Lung and Esophagus), Hangzhou, 4Department of Thoracic Surgery, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China Abstract: FGFR1 amplification is recognized as a novel therapy target for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), especially in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, the association between FGFR1 amplification and the clinicopathological characteristics of NSCLC remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis of 17 eligible studies to examine the correlation between FGFR1 gene amplification and clinicopathological characteristics. FGFR1 amplification was closely related to these clinicopathological features, including sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.50–2.80), smoking (OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.02–5.44), and histology (OR 3.60, 95% CI 2.82–4.59). FGFR1 amplification was associated with shorter overall survival, and no significant heterogeneity existed between studies (I2=3.8%). We should note that publication bias may partly account for these results, but our findings remained significant after the trim-and-fill method (hazard ratio 1.22, 95% CI 1.06–1.40). However, no significant correlation was found with poor disease-free survival (hazard ratio 1.43, 95% CI 0.96–2.12). In conclusion, this study showed that FGFR1 amplification was significantly associated with sex, smoking, and histology. FGFR1 amplification could be a marker of poor prognosis in NSCLC patients, especially in SCC patients. Keywords: FGFR1, amplification, non-small-cell lung cancer, meta-analysi