Lepton pair photoproduction in peripheral relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We study the lepton pair photoproduction in peripheral heavy-ion collisions based on the formalism in our previous work [Phys. Rev. D 104, 056011 (2021)]. We present the numerical results for the distributions of the transverse momentum, azimuthal angle and invariant mass for $e^{+}e^{-}$ and $\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$ pairs as functions of the impact parameter and other kinematic variables in Au+Au collisions. Our calculation incorporates the information on the transverse momentum and polarization of photons which is essential to describe the experimental data. We observe a broadening effect in the transverse momentum for lepton pairs with and without smear effects. We also observe a significant enhancement in the distribution of $\cos(2\varphi)$ for $\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$ pairs. Our results provide a baseline for future studies of other higher order corrections beyond Born approximation and medium effects in the lepton pair production.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure

Modulating Linker Composition of Haptens Resulted in Improved Immunoassay for Histamine.

Histamine (HA) is an important food contaminant generated during food fermentation or spoilage. However, an immunoassay for direct (derivatization free) determination of HA has rarely been reported due to its small size to induce the desired antibodies by its current hapten-protein conjugates. In this work, despite violating the classical hapten design criteria which recommend introducing a linear aliphatic (phenyl free) linker into the immunizing hapten, a novel haptens, HA-245 designed and synthesized with a phenyl-contained linker, exhibited significantly enhanced immunological properties. Thus, a quality-improved monoclonal antibody (Mab) against HA was elicited by its hapten-carrier conjugates. Then, as the linear aliphatic linker contained haptens, Hapten B was used as linker-heterologous coating haptens to eliminate the recognition of linker antibodies. Indirect competitive ELISA (ic-ELISA) was developed with a 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) of 0.21 mg/L and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.06 mg/L in buffer solution. The average recoveries of HA from spiked food samples for this ic-ELISA ranged from 84.1% and 108.5%, and the analysis results agreed well with those of referenced LC-MS/MS. This investigation not only realized derivatization-free immunoassay for HA, but also provided a valuable guidance for hapten design and development of immunoassay for small molecules

Prevalence of Sarcoptes scabiei

Little is known about the prevalence of Sarcoptes scabiei infection in pet dogs in China. In the present study, the prevalence of S. scabiei infection in pet dogs in Guangzhou, southern China, was investigated between January and December, 2009. A total of 3,977 pet dogs admitted to animal hospitals were examined for the presence of S. scabiei using a parasitological approach. The average prevalence of S. scabiei infection in pet dogs is 1.18% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85–1.52%). The prevalence of S. scabiei was higher in winter (1.42%; 95% CI: 0.29–2.55%), summer (1.39%; 95% CI: 0.83–1.96%), and autumn (1.1%; 95% CI: 0.53–1.68%) than in spring (0.63%; 95% CI: 0.02–1.25%). Furthermore, the prevalence of S. scabiei was the highest in Pekingese (21.88%; 95% CI: 7.55–36.2%), followed by Papillon (5.26%; 95% CI: 0–11.06%) and Bichon Frise (3.19%; 95% CI: 0–6.75%). The results of the present investigation indicate that S. scabiei infection is prevalent in pet dogs in Guangzhou, China, which provides relevant “baseline” data for conducting control strategies and measures against scabies in this region and elsewhere in China. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive report of S. scabiei prevalence in pet dogs in China

Simulation analysis on the round billet macrostructure of special steel vertical caster

Ovaj rad daje analizu okruglog trupca 42CrMo vertikalno ljevanog. Temelji se na parametrima procesa kontinuiranog lijevanja ZhongYuan specijalnog čelika i parametrima CAFE nukleacije, usvojenom metodom "ProCAST chip-moving boundary" za provođenje numeričke simulacije okruglog trupca. Simulacijski i praktični slučajevi imaju istu makrostrukturnu morfologiju, okrugla kladica ima središnji istoosni kristal od 41,2 %. Kako je smanjeno pregrijavanje tekućeg čelika i intenziteta hlađenja, prosječni radijus kristala se smanjio, broj kristala se povećao, a makrostruktura je pokazala trend progresivnog razrađivanja.This paper provides an analysis of the 42CrMo round billet by the vertical caster. Based on ZhongYuan Special Steel continuous casting process parameters and CAFE nucleation parameters, the ProCAST chip-moving boundary method is adopted to conduct the numerical simulation of round billet. Simulation and practical cases both have the same macrostructure morphology, the round billet has the center equiaxial crystal of 41,2 %. As the superheat of liquid steel and cooling intensity is reduced, the average radius of crystal decreased, the number of crystal increased, and the macrostructure showed a trend of progressive elaboration

The Clinical Profile of Merkel Cell Carcinoma in Mainland China

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive cutaneous malignancy, but little is known about the presence or characteristics of MCC in mainland China. A retrospective chart review was conducted to describe the clinical profile of Merkel cell carcinoma in China

Survivin is a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for extranodal, nasal-type natural killer/T cell lymphoma.

Background: The relationship between survivin and extranodal, nasal-type natural killer/T cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) was unclearly established yet. We here studied the potential prognostic roles of survivin and its implication as a target in ENKTCL therapy. Methods: ENKTCL patients\u27 peripheral blood were collected and tested by ELISA. ENKTCL cell lines were cultured with or without survivin inhibitor and tested by MTT and Flow cytometry. According to the gene expression profiles from the ArrayExpress Archive under E-TABM-702, survivin co-regulated cluster was established by Coupled Two-way Clustering Algorithm. Results: Seventeen point six percent of total 17 ENKTCL patients were serum survivin-positive. These patients had poorer outcome than that of negative cases (P Conclusions: We concluded that survivin was a potential prognostic marker and a critical regulatory molecule in the pathological process of ENKTCL. It would be a promising target in drugs discovery for ENKTCL therapy

Imaging Features of Pediatric Pentastomiasis Infection: a Case Report

We report here a case of pentastomiasis infection in a 3-year-old girl who had high fever, abdominal pain, abdominal tension and anemia. Ultrasound scanning of the abdomen revealed disseminated hyperechoic nodules in the liver and a small amount of ascites. Abdominal MRI showed marked hepatomegaly with disseminated miliary nodules of high signal intensity throughout the hepatic parenchyma on T2-weighted images; retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy and disseminated miliary nodules on the peritoneum were also noted. Chest CT showed scattered small hyperdense nodules on both sides of the lungs. The laparoscopy demonstrated diffuse white nodules on the liver surface and the peritoneum. After the small intestinal wall and peritoneal biopsy, histological examination revealed parenchymal tubercles containing several larvae of pentastomids and a large amount of inflammatory cell infiltration around them. The pathological diagnosis was parasitic granuloma from pentastomiasis infection

Prognostic Value of Pathological Response for Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Conversion Surgery

Introduction: Transarterial chemoembolization combined with lenvatinib and PD-1 inhibitor (triple therapy) has displayed encouraging clinical outcomes for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). We aimed to explore the prognostic value of pathological response (PR) in patients with initially uHCC who underwent conversion surgery following triple therapy and identify predictors of major pathological response (MPR). Methods: A total of 76 patients with initially uHCC who underwent conversion surgery following triple therapy were retrospectively analyzed. PR was calculated as the proportion of nonviable tumor cell surface area of the whole tumor bed surface area. MPR was identified when PR was ≥90%. Pathological complete response (pCR) was defined as the absence of viable tumor cells. Results: MPR and pCR were identified in 53 (69.7%) and 25 (32.9%) patients, respectively. The 1- and 2-year overall survival in patients with MPR were significantly higher than in those without MPR (100.0% and 91.3% vs. 67.7% and 19.4%; p < 0.001). The corresponding recurrence-free survival was also improved in patients with MPR compared to those without (75.9% and 50.8% vs. 22.3% and 11.2%; p < 0.001). Similar results were observed among patients with pCR and those without. Patients who achieved MPR without pCR exhibited survival rates comparable to those of patients who achieved pCR. Baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥2.6 (p = 0.016) and preoperative alpha-fetoprotein level ≥400 ng/mL (p = 0.015) were independent predictors of MPR. Conclusion: The presence of MPR or pCR could improve prognosis in patients with initially uHCC who underwent conversion surgery following triple therapy. The PR may become a surrogate marker for predicting the prognosis of these patients

Laser-launched evanescent surface plasmon polariton field utilized as a direct coherent pumping source to generate emitted nonlinear four-wave mixing radiation

We develop a concept of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) based four-wave mixing (4WM), in which a laser-launched evanescent SPP field is utilized as a coherent pumping source to involve directly in a nonlinear 4WM process at the dielectric/metal interface. Conversion efficiency of the resulting 4WM radiation is expected to be dramatically increased due to the local-field enhancement effect. Feasibility of implementing this concept at the air/gold film and graphene flake/gold film interfaces is further examined by numerical simulations. The concept shows intriguing promise for applications in newly emerging nanophotonics, optoelectronics, and active plasmonics.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Optics Expres