Substitution for Cu in the electron-doped infinite-layer superconductor Sr0.9La0.1CuO2, Ni reduces Tc much faster than Zn

We report on the effect of substitution for Cu on Tc of electron-doped infinite-layer superconductors Sr0.9La0.1Cu1-xRxO2, R = Zn and Ni. We found that Tc was nearly constant until x = 0.03 for R = Zn, while superconductivity was nearly suppressed for x = 0.02 with dTc/dx = 20 K/% for R = Ni. This behavior is very similar to that of conventional superconductors. These findings are discussed in terms of the superconducting gap symmetry in the cuprate superconductors including another electron-doped superconductor, (Nd,Ce)2CuO4-y.Comment: 5 pages and 2 EPS figures, [email protected] for material reques

Quality of life and mortality from a nephrologist's view: a prospective observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a potential independent predictor of mortality, nephrologists have shown little interest in HRQOL with respect to mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this article is to evaluate the impact of HRQOL on mortality in the elderly, who are likely to develop or already have CKD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Among 1,000 randomly sampled participants aged more than 65 years (sourced from the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Ageing), 944 subjects were evaluated for HRQOL. HRQOL was assessed using a 36-item Short-Form health survey (SF36). A cumulative survival rate was calculated according to tertiles of SF36 scores and classified by the presence of CKD (estimated GFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m²).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among 944 subjects, 46.6% had CKD. CKD patients had lower total and physical component scores compared with subjects without CKD. The 3-year cumulative survival rate was 90.0% (non-CKD vs. CKD: 92.6% vs. 87.4%, <it>P </it>= 0.005 by log rank test). After adjusting for multiple variables, a reduced SF36 score (physical and mental components) was a strong predictor of all-cause mortality. Physical components were consistently able to predict mortality after CKD classification, but mental components were statistically significant only in the CKD group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In addition to traditional risk factors of mortality, nephrologists should be aware of HRQOL as a predictor of mortality and should make efforts to improve HRQOL in CKD patients.</p

Transcriptional regulatory networks of tumor-associated macrophages that drive malignancy in mesenchymal glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma (GBM) is a complex disease with extensive molecular and transcriptional heterogeneity. GBM can be subcategorized into four distinct subtypes; tumors that shift towards the mesenchymal phenotype upon recurrence are generally associated with treatment resistance, unfavorable prognosis, and the infiltration of pro-tumorigenic macrophages. RESULTS: We explore the transcriptional regulatory networks of mesenchymal-associated tumor-associated macrophages (MA-TAMs), which drive the malignant phenotypic state of GBM, and identify macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) as the most highly differentially expressed gene. MARCO CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our study characterizes the global transcriptional profile of TAMs driving mesenchymal GBM pathogenesis, providing potential therapeutic targets for improving the effectiveness of GBM immunotherapy

Circulating CD62E+ Microparticles and Cardiovascular Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Activated endothelial cells release plasma membrane submicron vesicles expressing CD62E (E-selectin) into blood, known as endothelial microparticles (EMPs). We studied whether the levels of endothelial microparticles expressing CD62E(+), CD31(+)/Annexin-V(+), or CD31(+)/CD42(-) predict cardiovascular outcomes in patients with stroke history. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Patients with stroke history at least 3 months prior to enrolment were recruited. Peripheral blood EMP levels were measured by flow cytometry. Major cardiovascular events and death were monitored for 36 months. Three hundred patients were enrolled, of which 298 completed the study according to protocol. Major cardiovascular events occurred in 29 patients (9.7%). Nine patients died, five from cardiovascular causes. Cumulative event-free survival rates were lower in patients with high levels of CD62E(+) microparticles. Multivariate Cox regression analysis adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors, medications and stroke etiologic groups showed an association between a high CD62E(+) microparticle level and a risk of major cardiovascular events and hospitalization. Levels of other kinds of EMPs expressing CD31(+)/Annexin-V(+) or CD31(+)/CD42(-) markers were not predictive of cardiovascular outcomes. CONCLUSION: A high level of CD62E(+) microparticles is associated with cardiovascular events in patients with stroke history, suggesting that the systemic endothelial activation increases the risk for cardiovascular morbidities

Phloroglucinol Inhibits the Bioactivities of Endothelial Progenitor Cells and Suppresses Tumor Angiogenesis in LLC-Tumor-Bearing Mice

Background: There is increasing evidence that phloroglucinol, a compound from Ecklonia cava, induces the apoptosis of cancer cells, eventually suppressing tumor angiogenesis. Methodology/Principal Findings: This is the first report on phloroglucinol’s ability to potentially inhibit the functional bioactivities of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and thereby attenuate tumor growth and angiogenesis in the Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC)-tumor-bearing mouse model. Although Phloroglucinol did not affect their cell toxicity, it specifically inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) dependent migration and capillary-like tube formation of EPCs. Our matrigel plug assay clearly indicated that orally injected phloroglucinol effectively disrupts VEGF-induced neovessel formation. Moreover, we demonstrated that when phloroglucinol is orally administered, it significantly inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis as well as CD45 2 /CD34 + progenitor mobilization into peripheral blood in vivo in the LLC-tumorbearing mouse model. Conclusions/Significance: These results suggest a novel role for phloroglucinol: Phloroglucinol might be a modulator of circulating EPC bioactivities, eventually suppressing tumorigenesis. Therefore, phloroglucinol might be a candidat

Risk factors of COVID-19 mortality: a systematic review of current literature and lessons from recent retracted articles

OBJECTIVE: Recently, two influential articles that reported the association of (hydroxy)chloroquine or angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality were retracted due to significant methodological issues. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the same clinical issues through an improved research method and to find out the differences from the retracted papers. We systematically reviewed pre-existing literature, and compared the results with those of the retracted papers to gain a novel insight. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We extracted common risk factors identified in two retracted papers, and conducted relevant publication search until June 26, 2020 in PubMed. Then, we analyzed the risk factors for COVID-19 mortality and compared them to those of the retracted papers. RESULTS: Our systematic review demonstrated that most demographic and clinical risk factors for COVID-19 mortality were similar to those of the retracted papers. However, while the retracted paper indicated that both (hydroxy)chloroquine monotherapy and combination therapy with macrolide were associated with higher risk of mortality, our study showed that only combination therapy of hydroxychloroquine and macrolide was associated with higher risk of mortality (odds ratio 2.33; 95% confidence interval 1.63-3.34). In addition, our study demonstrated that use of ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) was associated with reduced risk of mortality (0.77; 0.65-0.91). CONCLUSIONS: When analyzing the same clinical issues with the two retracted papers through a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and relevant cohort studies, we found out that (hydroxy)chloroquine monotherapy was not associated with higher risk of mortality, and that the use of ACE inhibitors or ARBs was associated with reduced risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients

Plasma Polymerisation Using Helium Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jet with Heptylamine Monomer

Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets can be used to modify surfaces in a spatially-defined manner. Operating these jets in air is an efficient surface modification tool, however the resulting surface chemistries are limited by the plasma gases. In this study we demonstrate that plasma polymerisation with heptylamine on polystyrene surfaces, using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet, can enable mammalian cell attachment and growth. Importantly, the addition of the heptylamine monomer, in a helium carrier-gas, altered the spatially-defined treatment area in comparison to treatment with a helium plasma alone

Integrated Expression Profiling and Genome-Wide Analysis of ChREBP Targets Reveals the Dual Role for ChREBP in Glucose-Regulated Gene Expression

The carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP), a basic helix-loop-helix/leucine zipper transcription factor, plays a critical role in the control of lipogenesis in the liver. To identify the direct targets of ChREBP on a genome-wide scale and provide more insight into the mechanism by which ChREBP regulates glucose-responsive gene expression, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing and gene expression analysis. We identified 1153 ChREBP binding sites and 783 target genes using the chromatin from HepG2, a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line. A motif search revealed a refined consensus sequence (CABGTG-nnCnG-nGnSTG) to better represent critical elements of a functional ChREBP binding sequence. Gene ontology analysis shows that ChREBP target genes are particularly associated with lipid, fatty acid and steroid metabolism. In addition, other functional gene clusters related to transport, development and cell motility are significantly enriched. Gene set enrichment analysis reveals that ChREBP target genes are highly correlated with genes regulated by high glucose, providing a functional relevance to the genome-wide binding study. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that ChREBP may function as a transcriptional repressor as well as an activator