Vertical Structure of Neutrino-Dominated Accretion Disk and Applications to Gamma-Ray Bursts

We revisit the vertical structure of neutrino-dominated accretion flows in spherical coordinates. We stress that the flow should be geometrically thick when advection becomes dominant. In our calculation, the luminosity of neutrino annihilation is enhanced by one or two orders of magnitude. The empty funnel along the rotation axis can naturally explain the neutrino annihilable ejection.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Reversine and herbal Xiang–Sha–Liu–Jun–Zi decoction ameliorate thioacetamide-induced hepatic injury by regulating the RelA/NF-κB/caspase signaling pathway

This study investigated the anti-fibrotic effects of reversine and Chinese medicine Xiang–Sha–Liu–Jun–Zi decoction (XSLJZD) on thioacetamide (TAA)-induced hepatic injury. Sprague-Dawley rats were intraperitoneally administered with TAA, then injected with reversine intraperitoneally, and/or orally provided with XSLJZD. TAA resulted in liver injury with increases in the liver index and levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase. Reversine alleviated the liver index and AST level and improved TAA-induced pathological changes but decreased TAA-induced collagen deposition, and α-smooth muscle actin and transforming growth factor-β1 expression. Reversine also modulated the mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as RelA, interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-22, IL-1β, IL-6, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3, platelet-derived growth factor, and monocyte chemoattractant protein, and suppressed nuclear factor (NF)-κB (p65) phosphorylation and caspase 1 activation. Meanwhile, XSLJZD protected TAA-injured liver without increasing fibrosis and enhanced the regulating effect of reversine on RelA, IL-17A, IL-1β, and MCP-1 cytokines. In conclusion, reversine ameliorates liver injury and inhibits inflammation reaction by regulating NF-κB, and XSLJZD protects the liver through its synergistic effect with reversine on regulating inflammatory cytokines

Components of Goutengsan in Rat Plasma by Microdialysis Sampling and Its Protection on A β

Goutengsan, a Chinese herbal formula, potential protection on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been less reported. In current study, we investigated the protection of Goutengsan on Aβ1–42-induced pheochromocytoma-derived cells (PC12). Furthermore, the components from Goutengsan in rat plasma were identified by microdialysis (MD) for in vivo sampling. Meanwhile, the protection of components identified was also verified. At last, we found that Goutengsan has a potential protective effect on Aβ1–42-induced PC12 cells via reducing cells damage and increasing cells vitality as well as six components (pachymic acid, liquiritin, rhynchophylline, isorhynchophylline, corynoxeine, and isocorynoxeine) which may be effective components. This study helps to understand the treatment of Goutengsan for AD and would facilitate the clinical and further studies for this formula

Diagnostic Accuracy of Natriuretic Peptides for Heart Failure in Patients with Pleural Effusion: A Systematic Review and Updated Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Background</p><p>Previous studies have reported that natriuretic peptides in the blood and pleural fluid (PF) are effective diagnostic markers for heart failure (HF). These natriuretic peptides include N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and midregion pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP). This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of blood and PF natriuretic peptides for HF in patients with pleural effusion.</p><p>Methods</p><p>PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched to identify articles published in English that investigated the diagnostic accuracy of BNP, NT-proBNP, and MR-proANP for HF. The last search was performed on 9 October 2014. The quality of the eligible studies was assessed using the revised Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool. The diagnostic performance characteristics (sensitivity, specificity, and other measures of accuracy) were pooled and examined using a bivariate model.</p><p>Results</p><p>In total, 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis, including 12 studies reporting the diagnostic accuracy of PF NT-proBNP and 4 studies evaluating blood NT-proBNP. The summary estimates of PF NT-proBNP for HF had a diagnostic sensitivity of 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90–0.96), specificity of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.86–0.95), positive likelihood ratio of 10.9 (95% CI: 6.4–18.6), negative likelihood ratio of 0.07 (95% CI: 0.04–0.12), and diagnostic odds ratio of 157 (95% CI: 57–430). The overall sensitivity of blood NT-proBNP for diagnosis of HF was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86–0.95), with a specificity of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.77–0.94), positive likelihood ratio of 7.8 (95% CI: 3.7–16.3), negative likelihood ratio of 0.10 (95% CI: 0.06–0.16), and diagnostic odds ratio of 81 (95% CI: 27–241). The diagnostic accuracy of PF MR-proANP and blood and PF BNP was not analyzed due to the small number of related studies.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>BNP, NT-proBNP, and MR-proANP, either in blood or PF, are effective tools for diagnosis of HF. Additional studies are needed to rigorously evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of PF and blood MR-proANP and BNP for the diagnosis of HF.</p></div

Summary receiver operating characteristic curves for overall diagnostic accuracy of pleural fluid N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide.

<p>Each study in the meta-analysis is represented by a solid circle.</p