[Genotype-environment interaction on arterial stiffness: A pedigree-based study].

OBJECTIVE: To utilized the baseline data of the Beijing Fangshan Family Cohort Study, and to estimate whether the association between a healthy lifestyle and arterial stiffness might be modified by genetic effects. METHODS: Probands and their relatives from 9 rural areas in Fangshan district, Beijing were included in this study. We developed a healthy lifestyle score based on five lifestyle behaviors: smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI), dietary pattern, and physical activity. The measurements of arterial stiffness were brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and ankle-brachial index (ABI). A variance component model was used to determine the heritability of arterial stiffness. Genotype-environment interaction effects were performed by the maximum likelihood methods. Subsequently, 45 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the glycolipid metabolism pathway were selected, and generalized estimated equations were used to assess the gene-environment interaction effects between particular genetic loci and healthy lifestyles. RESULTS: A total of 6 302 study subjects across 3 225 pedigrees were enrolled in this study, with a mean age of 56.9 years and 45.1% male. Heritability of baPWV and ABI was 0.360 (95%CI: 0.302-0.418) and 0.243 (95%CI: 0.175-0.311), respectively. Significant genotype-healthy diet interaction on baPWV and genotype-BMI interaction on ABI were observed. Following the findings of genotype-environment interaction analysis, we further identified two SNPs located in ADAMTS9-AS2 and CDH13 might modify the association between healthy dietary pattern and arterial stiffness, indicating that adherence to a healthy dietary pattern might attenuate the genetic risk on arterial stiffness. Three SNPs in CDKAL1, ATP8B2 and SLC30A8 were shown to interact with BMI, implying that maintaining BMI within a healthy range might decrease the genetic risk of arterial stiffness. CONCLUSION: The current study discovered that genotype-healthy dietary pattern and genotype-BMI interactions might affect the risk of arterial stiffness. Furthermore, we identified five genetic loci that might modify the relationship between healthy dietary pattern and BMI with arterial stiffness. Our findings suggested that a healthy lifestyle may reduce the genetic risk of arterial stiffness. This study has laid the groundwork for future research exploring mechanisms of arterial stiffness.

[The role of the high-level public health school in the development of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention].

The Ministry of Education and other four departments jointly issued the Notice on the Construction of high-level schools of public Health, proposing that "it will take ten years to build a number of high-level schools of public health, and form a high-quality education development system to adapt to the construction of modern public health system". At present, the construction of high-level public health schools in various universities in China is in full swing. The high-level School of Public Health and the CDC have played an important role in constructing the national public health system and the human health community. The high-level public health schools are of strategic significance and important value to the development of the CDC. The review presents reflections and insights on the role of high-level public health schools in the development of the CDC and the challenges they might face.

[Teriparatide regulates osteoblast differentiation in high-glucose microenvironment through the cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of teriparatide on the differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells in high-glucose microenvironment and explore the possible mechanism. METHODS: MC3T3-E1 cells cultured in normal glucose or high-glucose (25 mmol/L) medium were treated with 10 nmol/L teriparatide with or without co-treatment with H-89 (a PKA inhibitor). CCK-8 assay was used to detect the changes in cell proliferation, and cAMP content in the cells was determined with ELISA. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineralized nodules in the cells were detected using ALP kit and Alizarin red staining, respectively. The changes in cell morphology were detected by cytoskeleton staining. Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expressions of PKA, CREB, RUNX2 and Osx in the treated cells. RESULTS: The treatments did not result in significant changes in proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells (P > 0.05). Compared with the cells in routine culture, the cells treated with teriparatide showed significantly increased cAMP levels (P < 0.05) with enhanced ALP activity and increased area of mineralized nodules (P < 0.05). Teriparatide treatment also resulted in more distinct visualization of the cytoskeleton in the cells and obviously up-regulated the mRNA expressions of PKA, CREB, RUNX2 and Osx (P < 0.05). The opposite changes were observed in cells cultured in high glucose. In cells exposed to high glucose, treatment with teriparatide significantly increased cAMP levels (P < 0.05), ALP activity and the area of mineralized nodules (P < 0.05) and enhanced the clarity of the cytoskeleton and mRNA expressions of PKA, CREB, RUNX2 and Osx; the effects of teriparatide was strongly antagonized by co-treatment with H-89 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Teriparatide can promote osteoblast differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells in high-glucose microenvironment possibly by activating the cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway.

Insulin Resistance-Varying Associations of Adiposity Indices with Cerebral Perfusion in Older Adults: A Population-Based Study.

OBJECTIVES: Excessive accumulation of adipose tissue may accelerate brain aging, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Several adiposity indices were proposed to assess obesity, while their linkage with brain health in older adults remained unclear. Here we aimed to examine the associations of adiposity indices with global and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in older adults, while considering insulin resistance. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional population-based study that included older adults derived from the baseline participants in the ongoing Multimodal Interventions to Delay Dementia and Disability in rural China (MIND-China) study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The study included 103 Chinese rural-dwelling older adults (age≥60 years; 69.9% women) who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging scans. METHODS: We estimated eight adiposity indices based on anthropometric measures. We automatically quantified global and regional CBF using the arterial spin labeling scans. Insulin resistance was assessed using the triglyceride-glucose index and then dichotomized into high and low levels according to the median. Data were analyzed using general linear model and voxel-wise analysis. RESULTS: Of the eight examined adiposity indices, only higher waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and body roundness index (BRI) were associated with reduced global CBF (multivariable-adjusted ß-coefficients and 95%CI: -1.76; -3.25, -0.27 and -1.77; -3.25, -0.30, respectively) and hypoperfusion in bilateral middle temporal gyri, angular gyri and superior temporal gyri, left middle cingulum and precuneus (P<0.05). There were statistical interactions of WHtR and BRI with levels of insulin resistance on CBF, such that the significant associations of higher WHtR and BRI with lower global and regional CBF existed only in people with high insulin resistance (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Higher WHtR and BRI are associated with cerebral hypoperfusion in older adults, especially in people with high insulin resistance. This may highlight the pathological role of visceral fat in vascular brain aging.

New evaluation of the thermodynamics stability for bcc-Fe.

The thermodynamic properties for bcc-Fe were predicted by combination of the first-principles calculations, the quasiharmonic approximation, the CALPHAD method and the Weiss molecular field theory. The hybrid method considers the effects of the lattice vibration, electron, intrinsic magnetism and external magnetic fields on the thermodynamic properties at finite temperature. Combined with experimental data, the calculated heat capacity without external magnetic fields was used to verify the validity of the hybrid method. Close to the Fermi level the high electronic density of states leads to a significant electronic contribution to free energy. Near the Curie temperature lattice vibrations dominant the Gibbs free energy. The order of the other three excitation contributions to Gibbs free energy from high to low is: intrinsic magnetism > electron > external magnetic fields. The investigation suggests that all the excitation contributions to Gibbs free energy are not negligible which provides a correct direction for tuning the thermodynamic properties for Fe-based alloy.

[Casticin inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of bladder cancer cells by inhibition of TM7SF4 expression].

Objective: To explore the effect and mechanism of Casticin (CAS) on the proliferation, migration and invasion of bladder cancer T24 cells. Methods: T24 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into control group, 5, 10, 20 µmol/L CAS groups, si-NC group, si-TM7SF4 group, CAS+ pcDNA group and CAS+ pcDNA-TM7SF4 group. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect cell proliferation; Transwell was used to detect cell migration and invasion; western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of cyclin D1, p21, MMP-2, MMP-9 and TM7SF4, and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of TM7SF4 mRNA. Results: The inhibition rates of T24 cells in the 5, 10, 20 µmol/L CAS groups were (17.68±1.41)%, (33.54±3.16)% and (61.44±5.50)%, respectively, higher than (0.00±0.00)% of the control group (P<0.001), but the numbers of migration and invasion were 72.83±5.66, 59.13±4.27, 41.25±3.22 and 55.83±5.15, 42.19±3.06, 31.13±3.22, respectively, lower than 86.11±5.16 and 68.82±5.29 of the control group (P<0.001). The protein expression levels of cyclin D1, MMP-2, MMP-9, TM7SF4 and the expression levels of TM7SF4 mRNA in the 5, 10, and 20 µmol/L CAS groups were lower than the control group (P<0.001). However, the protein expression levels of p21 were 0.37±0.03, 0.51±0.04, and 0.66±0.06, respectively, higher than 0.25±0.03 in the control group (P<0.001). The inhibition rate of T24 cells in the si-TM7SF4 group was (50.35±4.67)%, higher than (6.31±0.58)% in the si-NC group (P<0.001), but the numbers of migration and invasion were 53.51±4.18 and 42.92±3.81, lower than 85.26±4.99 and 67.93±4.64 of the si-NC group (P<0.001). The protein expression levels of TM7SF4, CyclinD1, MMP-2, MMP-9 in the si-TM7SF4 group were lower than the si-NC group (P<0.001). However, the protein expression level of p21 in the si-TM7SF4 group was higher than the si-NC group (P<0.001). The inhibitory rate of T24 cells in the CAS+ pcDNA-TM7SF4 group was (21.45±2.46)%, lower than (64.06±4.49)% of the CAS+ pcDNA group (P<0.001), but the number of migration and invasion in the CAS+ pcDNA-TM7SF4 group were 75.66±6.57 and 59.35±5.40, higher than 40.43±3.85 and 30.25±3.32 in the CAS+ pcDNA group (P<0.001). The protein expression levels of TM7SF4, CyclinD1, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the CAS+ pcDNA-TM7SF4 group were higher than the CAS+ pcDNA group (P<0.001), but the protein expression level of p21 was lower than the CAS+ pcDNA group (P<0.001). Conclusion: CAS may suppress the proliferation, migration and invasion of bladder cancer T24 cells by inhibiting the expression of TM7SF4.

[Analysis on off-label use of drugs in pediatric guidelines and consensus published by Chinese authors].

Objective: To understand the current situation regarding pediatric off-label use of drugs recommendations in Chinese clinical practice guidelines and to make recommendations for standardized reporting format regarding off-label use of drugs for children. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out by systematically searching the databases for Chinese guideline consensus articles published in journals between 2018 and 2020 and extracting recommendations regarding off-label use of drugs from those articles. The essential characteristics of the included guidelines, the ranking of off-label drug types, the order of drug information, the type of off-label drug use, and the percentage of citation studies on which the recommendations were based were analyzed. Results: Among 108 studies that included Chinese off-label guidelines and consensus, 364 recommendations on pediatric off-label use of drugs were included. The Chinese Medical Association published the most, 48 out of the 108 studies (44.4%), and of those 14 studies (13.0%) were on infectious and parasitic diseases. Of the 364 recommendations on off-label use of drugs, the most commonly addressed drugs were 16 recommendations (4.4%) for cyclosporine A, 11 recommendations (3.0%) for methotrexate , and 11 recommendations (3.0%) for fentanyl. The most commonly addressed drug categories were as follows: 68 recommendations (18.6%) were immune system drugs, 66 recommendations (18.1%) were anti-infectives, and 56 recommendations (15.4%) were oncology drugs. The most commonly addressed drug information accounts were as follows: 364 recommendations (100.0%) were indications, 204 recommendations (56.0%) were dosages, and 198 recommendations (54.4%) were the route of administration. Based on the instructions approved by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration, the main forms of the off-label drug were as follows: 175 recommendations (48.1%) were unapproved indications, 127 recommendations (34.9%) were unapproved populations, and 72 recommendations (19.8%) were unapproved ages. Only 129 recommendations (35.4%) were cited, mainly including clinical guidelines (48 studies, 23.4%), reviews (22 studies, 10.7%), and pediatric randomized controlled trials (22 studies, 10.7%). Conclusions: Off-label use of drugs is commonly recommended in pediatric guidelines and consensus documents written by Chinese authors. However, the reporting of the recommendations varies widely, and the quality of the supporting evidence is poor.

[Clinical characteristics of coal worker's peneumoconiosis complicated with acute exacerbation of chronic obstractive pulno-mary disease].

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of acute exacerbation of acute lung disease (AECOPD) and to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2018, 127 patients with AECOPD were investigated retrospectively in March 2020, including 65 cases of pneumoconiosis with AECOPD group, 62 cases of AECOPD group, 127 cases of AECOPD group, the clinical characteristics, length of stay, cost difference and the correlation between pulmonary function and blood gas were analyzed in patients with AECOPD. Results: There was no significant difference in age, height, weight, BMI, ethnicity and smoking between the two groups (P>0.05) . The percentage of Neutrophil and hs-crp in pneumoconiosis combined with AECOPD group were significantly higher than those in AECOPD group (P<0.05) . The oxygen partial pressure in pneumoconiosis combined AECOPD group was lower than that in control group (P<0.05) . VC, FVC/Pred%, FEV(1)/Pred% in pneumoconiosis combined with AECOPD group were lower than those in AECOPD group, RV/Pred% and RV/TLC were higher than those in AECOPD group (P<0.05) . The hospitalization time and cost of the patients with AECOPD were significantly higher than that of the patients with AECOPD (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Compared with AECOPD group, the patients with pneumoconiosis combined AECOPD group had higher infection inflammation level, lower pulmonary function, longer hospitalization time and higher hospitalization cost.

Cell-free DNA from bile outperformed plasma as a potential alternative to tissue biopsy in biliary tract cancer.

BACKGROUND: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are rare and highly heterogenous malignant neoplasms. Because obtaining BTC tissues is challenging, the purpose of this study was to explore the potential roles of bile as a liquid biopsy medium in patients with BTC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-nine consecutive patients with suspected BTC were prospectively enrolled in this study. Capture-based targeted sequencing was performed on tumor tissues, whole blood cells, plasma, and bile samples using a large panel consisting of 520 cancer-related genes. RESULTS: Of the 28 patients enrolled in this cohort, tumor tissues were available in eight patients, and plasma and bile were available in 28 patients. Somatic mutations were detected in 100% (8/8), 71.4% (20/28), and 53.6% (15/28) of samples comprising tumor tissue DNA, bile cell-free DNA (cfDNA), and plasma cfDNA, respectively. Bile cfDNA showed a significantly higher maximum allele frequency than plasma cfDNA (P = 0.0032). There were 56.2% of somatic single-nucleotide variant (SNVs)/insertions and deletions (indels) shared between bile and plasma cfDNA. When considering the genetic profiles of tumor tissues as the gold standard, the by-variant sensitivity and positive predictive value for SNVs/indels in bile cfDNA positive for somatic mutations were both 95.5%. The overall concordance for SNVs/indels in bile was significantly higher than that in plasma (99.1% versus 78.3%, P < 0.0001). Moreover, the sensitivity of CA 19-9 combined with bile cfDNA achieved 96.4% in BTC diagnosis. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that bile cfDNA was superior to plasma cfDNA in the detection of tumor-related genomic alterations. Bile cfDNA as a minimally invasive liquid biopsy medium might be a supplemental approach to confirm BTC diagnosis.

[Expression profile of intervertebral disc degeneration-specific genes: a transcriptome sequencing-based analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To identify new therapeutic targets for intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) by analyzing gene variations in IDD. OBJECTIVE: We analyzed surgical samples of intervertebral disc from 4 patients with IDD and 3 patients with non-IDD using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology to identify significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in IDD. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases were utilized for gene enrichment studies to acquire the key genes and signal pathways during IDD progression. The differential expressions of the identified genes in IDD were validated in clinical samples with qRT-PCR. OBJECTIVE: The transcriptome profile revealed 512 significant DEGs, which were enriched in terms of keratinization, extracellular matrix (ECM) components, growth factor binding, and inflammatory chemotaxis in GO analysis. The top 10 terms of KEGG enrichment included amoebiasis, viral protein interaction with cytokine and cytokine receptor, ECM-receptor interaction, IL-17 signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, TNF signaling pathway, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway and estrogen signaling pathway. Thirteen DEGs selected as the targets for qRT-PCR validation showed significant differential expressions in IDD (P < 0.001), and their expression trends were all consistent with the results of RNA-seq. Among these genes, 10 genes showed significant intergroup fold change (Log2FoldChange>1). OBJECTIVE: ECM, growth factors, collagen components, inflammatory chemokines and such signal pathways as TNF-α and PI3K-Akt all have important contributions to IDD progression and may thus serve as new therapeutic targets for treatment of IDD.

GPAA1 promotes progression of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia through regulating c-myc.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that glycosylphosphatidylinositol Anchor Attachment Protein 1 (GPAA1) is a cancer-promoting gene; however, the role of GPAA1 in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has not been reported. This study aims to illustrate the role of GPAA1 in promoting the metastasis of ALL by targeting c-myc and the potential mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to examine serum levels of GPAA1 and c-myc in 42 childhood ALL patients and healthy volunteers. The interaction between GPAA1 expression and prognosis of childhood ALL was analyzed. Meanwhile, expressions of GPAA1 and c-myc in ALL cell lines were determined by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, after GPAA1 knockdown model was constructed by lentivirus transfection in MOLT-4 and SUP-B15 cells, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell invasion, and cell wound healing assays were conducted to analyze the effect of GPAA1 on the biological functions of ALL cells. Potential mechanism was further explored through Luciferase reporter gene assay and cell recovery experiments. RESULTS: QRT-PCR results indicated that serum level of GPAA1 in childhood ALL patients was remarkably higher than that of healthy volunteers, and the difference was statistically significant. Childhood ALL patients with high expression of GPAA1 had lower overall survival rate compared with those expressing low expression of GPAA1. Proliferation and metastasis abilities of pediatric ALL cells with GPAA1 knockdown remarkably decreased. Subsequently, c-myc expression was also found remarkably upregulated in ALL cell lines and serum samples of childhood ALL patients and it was positively correlated with GPAA1 level. In addition, Luciferase reporter gene assay demonstrated that overexpression of c-myc remarkably attenuated the Luciferase activity of the wild-type GPAA1 vector without attenuating that of the mutant vector or empty vector, further demonstrating that GPAA1 can be targeted by c-myc. At the same time, cell recovery experiment found that the interaction between GPAA1 and c-myc together regulated the malignant progression of ALL. CONCLUSIONS: GPAA1 was up-regulated in serum of childhood ALL patients, which was remarkably associated with the prognosis. In addition, GPAA1 may contribute to the malignant progression of childhood ALL via activating c-myc.

Locomotor transition: how squid jet from water to air.

The amazing multi-modal locomotion of flying squid helps to achieve fast-speed migration and predator-escape behavior. Observation of flying squid has been rarely reported in recent years, since it is challenging to clearly record the flying squid's aquatic-aerial locomotion in a marine environment. The existing reports of squid-flying events are rare and merely record the in-air motion. Therefore, the water-air locomotor transition of flying squid is still unknown. This paper proposes the idea of using CFD to simulate the process of the flying squid (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (S. oualaniensis)) launching from water into air. The results for the first time reveal the flow field information of squid in launching phase and show the kinematic parameters of flying squid in quantification. Both a trailing jet and pinch-off vortex rings are formed to generate launching thrust, and the formation number L ω /D ω is 5.22, demonstrating that the jet strategy is to produce greater time-averaged thrust rather than higher propulsion efficiency. The results also indicate that the maximum flying speed negatively correlates with the launch angle, indicating that a lower launch angle could result in a larger flying speed for the flying squid to escape. These findings explore the multi-modal locomotion of flying squid from a new perspective, helping to explain the trade-off strategy of water-to-air transition, and further enhance the performance of aquatic-aerial vehicles.

Mechanism of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 in promoting the occurrence and development of oral squamous cell carcinoma through targeting miR-196a.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have demonstrated that long non-coding ribonucleic acid (lncRNA) FEZF1-AS1 acts as a cancer-promoting gene. However, no reports have investigated the role of FEZF1-AS1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) yet. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore whether FEZF1-AS1 promoted the expression characteristics of OSCC by targeting miR-196a and to further elucidate the underlying mechanism of FEZF1-AS1 in promoting the metastasis of OSCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression levels of FEZF1-AS1 and miR-196a in 42 pairs of OSCC tissues and para-carcinoma tissues were detected via quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The correlation of FEZF1-AS1 expression with clinical indexes and prognosis of OSCC patients was analyzed. Moreover, the expression levels of FEZF1-AS1 and miR-196a in OSCC cells were detected via qRT-PCR. FEZF1-AS1 knockdown and miR-196a over-expression models were established using lentivirus transfection in OSCC cell lines (CAL-27 and Tca8113). Subsequently, the influences of FEZF1-AS1 and miR-196a on the biological functions of OSCC cells were analyzed via Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation assay and 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, respectively. Furthermore, the potential mechanism was explored using the Luciferase reporter gene and recovery assays. RESULTS: The results of qRT-PCR proved that the expression level of FEZF1-AS1 in OSCC tissues was significantly higher than that of para-carcinoma tissues, and the difference was statistically significant. The pathological stage was significantly higher in patients with high-expression FEZF1-AS1 than those with low-expression FEZF1-AS1, while the overall survival rate was remarkably lower. The proliferation ability of cells in FEZF1-AS1 silencing group declined significantly when compared with the NC group. Similarly, qRT-PCR results verified that the expression of miR-196a in OSCC cell lines and tissues was significantly reduced as well. Meanwhile, the miR-196a expression was negatively correlated with FEZF1-AS1. Subsequent Luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that overexpression of miR-196a could markedly reduce the activity of Luciferase containing wild-type FEZF1-AS1 vector rather than decrease the activity of Luciferase containing mutant-type vector or empty vector. These findings further indicated that FEZF1-AS1 could be targeted by miR-196a through this binding site. In addition, recovery assay demonstrates that there was a mutual regulatory effect between FEZF1-AS1 and miR-196a, jointly affecting the malignant progression of OSCC. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 was markedly up-regulated in OSCC, which was significantly correlated with pathological stage and poor prognosis of OSCC patients. Therefore, it was believed that FEZF1-AS1 might promote the malignant progression of OSCC by regulating miR-196a.

Author Correction: Magnetism and high magnetic-field-induced stability of alloy carbides in Fe-based materials.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

Magnetism and high magnetic-field-induced stability of alloy carbides in Fe-based materials.

Understanding the nature of the magnetic-field-induced precipitation behaviors represents a major step forward towards unravelling the real nature of interesting phenomena in Fe-based alloys and especially towards solving the key materials problem for the development of fusion energy. Experimental results indicate that the applied high magnetic field effectively promotes the precipitation of M23C6 carbides. We build an integrated method, which breaks through the limitations of zero temperature and zero external field, to concentrate on the dependence of the stability induced by the magnetic effect, excluding the thermal effect. We investigate the intimate relationship between the external field and the origins of various magnetics structural characteristics, which are derived from the interactions among the various Wyckoff sites of iron atoms, antiparallel spin of chromium and Fe-C bond distances. The high-magnetic-field-induced exchange coupling increases with the strength of the external field, which then causes an increase in the parallel magnetic moment. The stability of the alloy carbide M23C6 is more dependent on external field effects than thermal effects, whereas that of M2C, M3C and M7C3 is mainly determined by thermal effects.

H9N2 influenza virus isolated from minks has enhanced virulence in mice.

H9N2 is one of the major subtypes of influenza virus circulating in poultry in China, which has a wide host range from bird to mammals. Two H9N2 viruses were isolated from one mink farm in 2014. Phylogenetic analysis showed that internal genes of the H9N2 viruses have close relationship with those of H7N9 viruses. Interestingly, two H9N2 were separated in phylogenetic trees, indicating that they are introduced to this mink farm in two independent events. And further mice studies showed that one H9N2 caused obvious weight loss and 20% mortality in infected mice, while another virus did not cause any clinical sign in mice infected at the same dose. Genetic analysis indicated that the virulent H9N2 contain a natural mutation at 701N in PB2 protein, which was reported to contribute to mammalian adaptation. However, such substitution is absent in the H9N2 avirulent to mice. Circulation of H9N2 in mink may drive the virus to adapt mammals; continual surveillance of influenza virus in mink was warranted.

[Clinical analysis of 384 cases of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo].

Objective:To study the disease characteristics in cases with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo(BPPV).Method:The characteristics and clinical features of 384 cases with BPPV were retrospectively analyzed,and all cases were treated with repositioning maneuver.The treatment outcomes were observed and analyzed during the follow-up period. Result:①Of the 384 cases,331(86.20%) cases were PC-BPPV, 47(12.24%) cases were HC-BPPV and 3(0.78%) cases were AC-BPPV, 3(0.78%) cases were combined semicircular canal BPPV. ②All cases underwent repositioning maneuver, PC-BBPV cases first efficiency was 93.66%, long-term (six months) efficiency was 96.68%; HC-BBPV cases first efficiency was 91.49%, long-term (six months) efficiency was 95.74%;AC-BPPV cases first efficiency and long-term efficiency were 66.67%;combined semicircular canal BPPV cases first efficiency and long-term efficiency were 66.67%.③Among 331 cases with PC-BBPV, cases diagnosed duct stones accounted for 96.37%,cases diagnosed crest stones accounted for 3.63%. Among 47 cases with HC-BBPV, cases diagnosed duct stones accounted for 78.72%，cases diagnosed crest stones accounted for 21.28%.④During the follow-up of six months,the recurrence rate was 12.76%(49/384). Conclusion:①In BPPV cases of Guangxi,the ratio of male and female,age of onset and the incidence of BPPV in each semicircular canal are consistent with other literatures.Geographical and ethnic factors do not affect the above results.②Repositioning maneuver is an simple and effective treatment for cases with BPPV.③There is higher recurrence rate in cases with BPPV after repositioning maneuver.

Maximizing the security of chaotic optical communications.

The practical application of chaotic optical communications has been limited by two aspects: the difficulty in concealing the time delay - a critical security parameter in feedback chaotic systems, and the difficulty of significantly enlarging the key space without complicating the implementation. Here we propose an architecture to break the above limits. By introducing a frequency-dependent group delay module with frequency tuning resolution of 1 MHz into the chaotic feedback loop, we demonstrate excellent time delay concealment effect, and an additional huge key space of 1048 can be achieved at the same time. The effectiveness is proved by both numerical simulation and experiment. Besides, the proposed scheme is compatible with the existing commercial optical communication systems, thus pave the way for high-speed secure optical communications.

[Effect of magnesium and selenium on the expression of matrix metalloproteinases-20 and kallikrein 4 in fluorosis mice].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of magnesium/selenium on the expression of matrix metalloproteinases-20(MMP-20) and kallikrein 4(KLK4) during fluorosis in mice and to explore the formation mechanism of dental fluorosis. METHODS: Eighty SPF male ICR mice were randomly divided into 8 groups according to body weight: control group, magnesium group, selenium group, magnesium-selenium group, fluoride group, magnesium-fluorine group, selenium-fluorine group and magnesium-selenium-fluorine group. Mice in control, magnesium, selenium and magnesium-selenium groups were fed double steamed water, and mice in the other four groups were feddouble steamed water with 50 mg/L F(-). Mice in control and fluoride groups were fed conventionally. Mice in magnesium and magnesium-fluorine groups were fed conventionally by adding MgSO4·7H2O 162.5 mg/kg. Mice in selenium and selenium-fluorine groups were fed conventionally by adding Na2SeO3·5H2O 2 mg/kg. Mice in magnesium-selenium and magnesium-selenium-fluorine groups were fed conventionally by adding MgSO4·7 H2O 162.5 mg/kg + Na2SeO3·5H2O 2 mg/kg. Incisor specimens were obtained after the mice were put into death when they were 42 days. The expressions of MMP-20 and KLK4 were observed by using immunohisto-chemicalstain. RESULTS: The meangray value of MMP-20 of fluoride group(133.1±10.3) was significantly higher than that of control group(116.8±10.0), magnesium group (113.6 ± 9.6), magnesium-selenium group(108.2 ± 15.2), magnesium-fluorine group(111.1 ± 8.1) and magnesium-selenium-fluorine group(108.2 ± 11.0), respectively(F=3.864, P<0.05). The mean gray value of MMP-20 of magnesium-selenium-fluorine group(108.2±11.0) was significantly lower than that of selenium group(125.4 ± 7.9), fluoride group (133.1 ± 10.3) and selenium-fluorine group(126.2 ± 2.8), respectively(F= 3.864, P<0.05). The mean gray value of KLK4 of magnesium-selenium group(117.2±11.7) was significantly lower than others(137.3±7.9 of control group, 144.2±7.7 of magnesium group, 138.9±13.3 of selenium group, 149.7 ± 12.4 of fluoride group, 148.9 ± 7.5 of magnesium-fluorine group, 140.6 ± 17.0 of selenium-fluorine group and 140.7 ± 7.3 of magnesium-selenium-fluorine group, F=3.668, P<0.05). In factorial analysis of fluorosis mice, magnesium had effect on the expression of MMP-20(F=42.613, P<0.05), selenium had effect on the expression of KLK4(F=6.649, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The excessive fluoride could inhibit the expressions of MMP-20. The excessive fluoride hadno significant influence on the expression of KLK4. Magnesium and selenium had antagonistic effect on the dental fluorosis.

Dihydroartemisinin attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced osteoclastogenesis and bone loss via the mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway.

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is a widely used antimalarial drug isolated from the plant Artemisia annua. Recent studies suggested that DHA has antitumor effects utilizing its reactive oxygen species (ROS) yielding mechanism. Here, we reported that DHA is inhibitory on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced osteoclast (OC) differentiation, fusion and bone-resorption activity in vitro. Intracellular ROS detection revealed that DHA could remarkably increase ROS accumulation during LPS-induced osteoclastogenesis. Moreover, cell apoptosis was also increased by DHA treatment. We found that DHA-activated caspase-3 increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio during LPS-induced osteoclastogenesis. Meanwhile, the translocation of apoptotic inducing factor (AIF) and the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol were observed, indicating that ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction is crucial in DHA-induced apoptosis during LPS-induced osteoclastogenesis. In vivo study showed that DHA treatment decreased OC number, prevents bone loss, rescues bone microarchitecture and restores bone strength in LPS-induced bone-loss mouse model. Together, our findings indicate that DHA is protective against LPS-induced bone loss through apoptosis induction of osteoclasts via ROS accumulation and the mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway. Therefore, DHA may be considered as a new therapeutic candidate for treating inflammatory bone loss.