Author: Because of the closed-loop phase diagram of tetrahydrofuran (THF)-water mixture, THF aqueous solution naturally exhibits concentration fluctuations near the phase boundary. Besides the fast mode induced by concentration fluctuations, the 4.5% mole fraction THF aqueous solution is also characterized by a slow mode. The existence of a trace amount of butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) antioxidant in commercial THF strongly influences the slow mode in 4.5% mole fraction THF aqueous solution. A core-shell structure with a BHT core and a shell made from THF-rich THF-D(2)O mixture was identified by the combination of dynamic laser light scattering (DLS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). BHT is hydrophobic, stabilized by a THF-rich domain in THF aqueous solution and acts as a tracer to make the large-scale structure (slow mode) "visible" through SANS because of its larger contrast with the solvent. In contrast, this large-scale structure was almost not detectable by SANS when BHT was removed from the THF-D(2)O mixture. Combined UV-vis, DLS, and static light scattering (SLS) indicated that slow-moving objects do exist and that their sizes almost do not change, but their concentration decreases to a small but nonzero value at the infinite dilution limit. The origin of the elusive large-scale structure at zero BHT concentration is still not clear, but it might be associated with some hydrophobic impurities or nanobubbles. However, a polydisperse sphere model of ∼8.5% mole fraction THF-D(2)O mixture can fit the structure with a radius of ∼100 nm, which gives the temperature-dependent low-q SANS profiles of 4.5% mole fraction THF aqueous solution at zero BHT concentration.

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We presented a study on the Galactic bubble N4 using the 13.7 m millimeter telescope of Purple Mountain Observatory at the Qinghai Station. N4 is one of the science demonstration regions for the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting (WMISP). Simultaneous observations of 12 CO (J = 1−0), 13 CO (J = 1−0) and C 18 O (J = 1−0) line emission towards N4 were carried out. We analyzed the spectral profile and the distribution of the molecular gas. Morphologically, the CO emissions correlate well with Spitzer IRAC 8.0 µm emission. The channel map and velocity-position diagram shows that N4 is more likely an inclined expanding ring than a spherical bubble. We calculated the physical parameters of N4 including the mass, size, column density and optical depth. Some massive star candidates were discovered in the region of N4 using (J, J−H) color-magnitude diagram. We found an energy source candidate for the expansion of N4, a massive star with a mass of ∼15 M ⊙ and an age of ∼ 1 Myr. There exists infall motion signature in N4, which can be a good candidate of infall area. Combined mm and infrared data, we think there may exists triggered star formation in N4.

The degree to which branches are autonomous in their acclimation responses to alteration in light environment is still poorly understood. We investigated the effects of shading of the sapling crown of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook on the whole-tree and mid-crown branch growth and current-year foliage structure and physiology. Four treatments providing 0, 50, 75 and 90% shading compared with full daylight (denoted as Treatment(0), Treatment(50%), Treatment(75%) and Treatment(90%), and Shaded(0), Shaded(50%), Shaded(75%) and Shaded(90%) for the shaded branches and Sunlit(0), Sunlit(50%), Sunlit(75%) and Sunlit(90%) for the opposite sunlit branches under natural light conditions, respectively), were applied over two consecutive growing seasons. Shading treatments decreased the growth of basal stem diameter, leaf dry mass per unit leaf area, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, the ratio of water-soluble to structural leaf nitrogen content, photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency and instantaneous and long-term (estimated from carbon isotope composition) water-use efficiency in shaded branches. Differences between shaded and sunlit branches increased with increasing severity and duration of shading. A non-autonomous, partly compensatory behavior of non-shaded branches was observed for most traits, thus reflecting the dependence between the traits of sunlit branches and the severity of shading of the opposite crown half. The results collectively indicated that tree growth and branch and leaf acclimation responses of C. lanceolata are not only affected by the local light environment, but also by relative within-crown light conditions. We argue that such a non-autonomous branch response to changes in light conditions can improve whole-tree resource optimization. These results contribute to better understanding of tree growth and utilization of water and nitrogen under heterogeneous light conditions within tree canopies.

PurposeTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is more than a single disease. Identifying biomarkers to further subdivide TNBC patients with distinct outcome is of great importance. It has been reported that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Aurora kinase A (AURKA) or Aurora kinase B (AURKB) are associated with the risk and survival of several cancers. But till now, there is no research about these polymorphisms in TNBC patients.Materials and methodsIn this study, we investigated the association between polymorphisms in AURKA or AURKB gene and prognosis of TNBC patients treated with taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy. A total of 273 TNBC patients were enrolled. Haploview 4.2 software was used to identify Tag SNPs. Genotyping was conducted using the MassARRAY MALDI-TOF system.ResultsWe found that AURKA rs6099128 GG genotype carriers had significantly worse overall survival (OS) than TT+ TG genotype carriers (P = 0.003, HR = 12.499, 95% CI = 2.357–66.298). AURKB rs11651993 TT genotype carriers had better disease-free survival (DFS) than TC + CC genotype carriers (P = 0.018, HR = 1.876, 95% CI = 1.116–3.154). AURKB rs2289590 CC genotype carriers had worse DFS than CA + AA genotype carriers (P = 0.021, HR = 0.536, 95% CI = 0.315–0.912). After subgroup analysis, rs11651993 TC + CC genotype predicted worse DFS in subgroups of age ≤ 50, post-menopausal, grade unknown (UK), tumor size >2 cm, and lymph node negative. Rs2289590 CA + AA genotype could predict favorable DFS in pre-menopausal, grade 3 and lymph node-positive patients.ConclusionWe first demonstrated that polymorphisms in AURKA or AURKB gene might predict the OS or DFS of TNBC patients treated with taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

Background: Finding an optimal treatment strategy for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients remains challenging because of its intrinsic complexity. For mild to moderate scoliosis patients with lower skeletal growth potential (Risser 3–5), most clinicians agree with observation treatment; however, the curve progression that occurs during puberty, the adolescent period, and even in adulthood, remains a challenging issue for clinicians. The aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy of Schroth exercise in AIS patients with lower skeletal growth potential (Risser 3–5) and moderate scoliosis (Cobb angle 20°–40°). Methods: From 2015 to 2017, data of 64 patients diagnosed with AIS in Peking University Third Hospital were reviewed. Forty-three patients underwent Schroth exercise were classified as Schroth group, and 21 patients underwent observation were classified as observation group. Outcomes were measured by health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and radiographic parameters. HRQOL was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) scores for back, Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) patient questionnaire. Radiographic spinopelvic parameters were obtained from anteroposterior and lateral X-rays. The pre-treatment and post-treatment HRQOL and radiographic parameters were tested to validate Schroth exercise efficacy. The inter-rater reliability of the radiographic parameters was tested using the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The paired t test was used to examine HRQOL and radiographic parameters. Clinical relevance between C2-C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA) and thoracic kyphosis was analyzed using Spearman correlation. Results: In Schroth group, VAS back score, SRS-22 pain, and SRS-22 self-image domain were significantly improved from pre-treatment 3.0 ± 0.8, 3.6 ± 0.5, and 3.5 ± 0.7 to post-treatment 1.6 ± 0.6 ( t = 5.578, P = 0.013), 4.0 ± 0.3 ( t = −3.918, P = 0.001), and 3.7 ± 0.4 ( t = −6.468, P < 0.001), respectively. No significant improvements of SRS-22 function domain ( t = −2.825, P = 0.088) and mental health domain ( t = −3.174, P = 0.061) were observed. The mean Cobb angle decreased from 28.9 ± 5.5° to 26.3 ± 5.2° at the final follow-up, despite no statistical significance was observed ( t = 1.853, P = 0.102). The mean C2-C7 SVA value decreased from 21.7 ± 8.4 mm to 17.0 ± 8.0 mm ( t = −1.224 P = 0.049) and mean T1 tilt decreased from 4.9 ± 4.2 ° to 3.5 ± 3.1° ( t = 2.913, P = 0.011). No significant improvement of radiographic paramete...

Key Message Female cuttings of Populus deltoides were sensitive to inorganic nitrogen forms and biased for NO 3 2 -N, whereas males exhibited no obvious preference for nitrogen form in nitrogen fertilizations. Abstract We investigated the effects of different inorganic nitrogen forms (NO 3 --N and NH 4 ? -N) on the morphology, physiology, and carbohydrate accumulation of male and female Populus deltoides. Results showed that both NO 3 --N and NH 4 ? -N supply forms significantly increased plant growth, C and N contents of all plant organs, chlorophyll pigment contents, net photosynthesis rates (P n ), and instantaneous photosynthetic N-use efficiencies (PNUE) in the leaves of both male and female P. deltoides. Females exhibited high total plant dry mass accumulation, P n , PNUE, and N contents in leaves but lower non-structure carbohydrate accumulation than males under nitrate treatment. However, males showed significantly higher P n , PNUE, and 15 NH 4 ? in the leaves, free amino acid content, and nitrate reductase (NR) activities than females under each nitrogen form supply treatment.These results suggested that male and female P. deltoides used different adaptive strategies in dry mass accumulation, allocation, and exhibited different interactions between nitrogen and carbon metabolism. Males exhibited higher nitrogen assimilation ability and N-use efficiency than females under nitrogen fertilizations, whereas females showed more sensitivity to inorganic nitrogen forms of treatments and distinct preference for NO 3 --N. Male P. deltoides showed no obvious bias to the two different N forms. Therefore, the different preferences of male and female P. deltoides of N supplied forms can serve as an important strategy for minimizing intraspecific competition between the two genders.

Identification of reliable non-invasive markers for the detection of invasive phenotype of urothelial carcinoma is needed. This study characterizes and compares protein expression profiles of adjacent non-neoplastic urothelium and invasive urothelial carcinoma to identify biomarkers for early detection of de novo bladder cancer. Differences in protein expression between adjacent non-neoplastic and high-grade, stage T4, grade 3 invasive urothelial carcinoma tissues were investigated using 2-DE, MALDI-TOF-MS, and data processing. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was applied to examine the biological mechanisms represented by the altered proteins. The 2-DE of the adjacent non-neoplastic urothelium and invasive urothelial carcinoma showed reproducibly similar proteomic mapping for each group distinguishing adjacent non-neoplastic urothelium from invasive urothelial carcinoma. Twenty-one proteins were altered in expression and one of these proteins, Choroideremia-like protein (CHML) was significantly overexpressed (p<0.005) and therefore was analyzed further using IHC and Western blot. Urothelial carcinoma presented an elevated expression of CHML but not adjacent non-neoplastic or normal bladder tissues. IPA revealed the involvement of CHML in cell morphology, cellular assembly, and organization. Further investigation is warranted to elucidate the biological significance of CHML and to validate its role as a biomarker for early detection of invasive urothelial carcinoma de novo.