A set of 224 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a narrow cross between two fresh eaten types (S94 (Northern China type) 9 S06 (Northern European type)) (Cucumis sativus L.) was used to construct a genetic linkage map. With the RILs a 257-point genetic map was constructed including 206 SRAPs, 22 SSRs, 25 SCARs, 1 STS, and three economically important morphological markers (small spines (ss), uniform immature fruit color (u), dull fruit skin (D)). The seven linkage groups covered 1005.9 cM with a mean marker interval of 3.9 cM.The ss locus was linked to D and u, and they were all on Linkage group 6. The RIL map contained a total of 51 sequence-specific markers, which made possible the comparison of molecular linkage maps developed in different laboratories. Using the F 6:7 derived families, a total of 78 QTLs were detected with relatively high LOD scores (2.9-84.4) for nine fruit-related traits (fruit weight, length, and diameter, fruit flesh thickness, seed-cavity diameter, fruit-stalk length, fruit pedicel length, length/diameter and length/stalk ratio) and three flower-related traits (first flower node, first female flower node and female flower ratios). Several sequence-anchor markers (CSWCT25, CS30, CMBR41, CS08 etc.) were closely linked with some QTLs for fruit weight, fruit length, fruit flesh thickness and sex expression, which can be used for the future marker-assisted selection to improve the fruit traits in cucumber breeding.

Query length in best-match information retrieval (IR) systems is well known to be positively related to effectiveness in the IR task, when measured in experimental, non-interactive environments. However, in operational, interactive IR systems, query length is quite typically very short, on the order of two to three words. We report on a study which tested the effectiveness of a particular query elicitation technique in increasing initial searcher query length, and which tested the effectiveness of queries elicited using this technique, and the relationship in general between query length and search effectiveness in interactive IR. Results show that the specific technique results in longer queries than a standard query elicitation technique, that this technique is indeed usable, that the technique results in increased user satisfaction with the search, and that query length is positively correlated with user satisfaction with the search.

a b s t r a c tThe thematic and citation structures of Data and Knowledge Engineering (DKE) are identified based on text analysis and citation analysis of the bibliographic records of full papers published in the journal. Temporal patterns are identified by detecting abrupt increases of frequencies of noun phrases extracted from titles and abstracts of DKE papers over time. Conceptual structures of the subject domain are identified by clustering analysis. Concept maps and network visualizations are presented to illustrate salient patterns and emerging thematic trends. A variety of statistics are reported to highlight key contributors and DKE papers that have made profound impacts.

The high-density consensus map was constructed based on the GY14 × PI 183967 map from an inter-subspecific cross and the extended S94 × S06 map from an intra-subspecific cross. The consensus map was composed of 1,369 loci, including 1,152 SSR loci, 192 SRAP loci, 21 SCAR loci and one STS locus as well as three gene loci of fruit external quality traits in seven chromosomes, and spanned 700.5 cM, of which 682.7 cM (97.5%) were covered by SSR markers. The average genetic distance and physical interval between loci were 0.51 cM and ~268 kbp, respectively. Additionally, the physical position of the sequence-associated markers aligned along the assembled cucumber genome sequence established a relationship between genetic maps and cucumber genome sequence and to a great extent validated the order of markers in individual maps and consensus map. This consensus map with a high marker density and well-ordered markers is a saturated and reliable linkage map for genetic analysis of cucumber or the Cucurbitaceae family of plants.

OBJECT The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical features and outcome of medulloblastoma in Chinese children. The authors analyze the reasons that treatment is abandoned and attempt to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving the prognosis of medulloblastoma in this population. METHODS A total of 67 pediatric cases of newly diagnosed medulloblastoma were included in this study. All of the children were treated at Xinhua Hospital between January 2007 and June 2013. The authors retrospectively analyzed the clinical data, treatment modalities, and outcome. The male-to-female ratio was 2:1, and the patients’ median age at diagnosis was 51.96 months (range 3.96–168.24 months). The median duration of follow-up was 32 months (range 3–70 months). RESULTS At the most recent follow-up date, 31 patients (46%) were alive, 30 (45%) had died, and 6 (9%) had been lost to follow-up. The estimated 3-year overall survival and progression-free survival, based on Kaplan-Meier analysis, were 55.1% ± 6.4% and 45.6% ± 6.7%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that standard-risk group (p = 0.009), postoperative radiotherapy (RT) combined with chemotherapy (p < 0.001), older age (≥ 3 years) at diagnosis (p = 0.010), gross-total resection (p = 0.012), annual family income higher than $3000 (p = 0.033), and living in urban areas (p = 0.008) were favorable prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis revealed that postoperative RT combined with chemotherapy was an independent prognostic factor (p < 0.001). The treatment abandonment rate in this cohort was 31% (21 of 67 cases). CONCLUSIONS There was a large gap between the outcome of medulloblastoma in Chinese children and the outcome in Western children. Based on our data, treatment abandonment was the major cause of therapeutic failure. Parents’ misunderstanding of medulloblastoma played a major role in abandonment, followed by financial and transportation difficulties. Establishment of multidisciplinary treatment teams could improve the prognosis of medulloblastoma in Chinese children.

BackgroundChemotherapy is one of major therapeutic regimens for neuroblastoma (NB) in children. However, recurrence and metastasis associated with poor prognosis caused by acquired multidrug resistance remains a challenge. There is a great need to achieve new insight into the molecular mechanism of drug resistance in NB. The aim of this study is to identify novel drug sensitivity-related biomarkers as well as new therapeutic targets to overcome chemoresistance.MethodsWe proteome-wide quantitatively compared protein expression of two NB cell lines with different drug sensitivities, isolated from the same patient prior to and following chemotherapy. Annexin A2 (ANXA2) emerged as a key factor contributing to drug resistance in NB. Then, we assessed the correlation of ANXA2 expression and clinical characteristics using a tissue microarray. Further, the roles of ANXA2 in chemoresistance for NB and the underlying mechanisms were studied by using short hairpin RNA (shRNA) in vitro and vivo.ResultsFirst in total, over 6000 proteins were identified, and there were about 460 significantly regulated proteins which were up- or down-regulated by greater than two folds. We screened out ANXA2 which was upregulated by more than 12-fold in the chemoresistant NB cell line, and it might be involved in the drug resistance of NB. Then, using a tissue chip containing 42 clinical NB samples, we found that strong expression of ANXA2 was closely associated with advanced stage, greater number of chemotherapy cycles, tumor metastasis and poor prognosis. Following knockdown of ANXA2 in NB cell line SK-N-BE(2) using shRNA, we demonstrate enhanced drug sensitivity for doxorubicin (2.77-fold) and etoposide (7.87-fold) compared with control. Pro-apoptotic genes such as AIF and cleaved-PARP were upregulated. Inhibiting ANXA2 expression attenuated transcriptional activity of NF-κB via down-regulated nuclear translocation of subunit p50. Finally, simulated chemotherapy in a xenograft NB nude mouse model suggests that ANXA2 knockdown could improve clinical results in vivo.ConclusionOur profiling data provided a rich source for further study of the molecular mechanisms of acquired drug resistance in NB. Further study may determine the role of ANXA2 as a prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for patients with multidrug-resistant NB.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13046-017-0581-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The purpose of this study is to report the first nationwide protocol (Wuhan Protocol) developed by Chinese Children's Cancer Group and the results of multidisciplinary effort in treating hepatoblastoma. In this study, we reported the final analysis, which includes 153 hepatoblastoma patients in 13 hospitals from January 2006 to December 2013. The 6-year overall survival and event-free survival rates were 83.3 ± 3.1% and 71.0 ± 3.7%, respectively, in this cohort. The univariate analysis revealed that female (P = 0.027), under 5 years of age (P = 0.039), complete surgical resection (P = 0.000), no metastases (P = 0.000), and delayed surgery following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.000) had better prognosis. In multivariate analysis, male, 5 years of age or above, stage PRETEXT III or IV, and incomplete surgical resection were among the some adverse factors contributing to poor prognosis. The preliminary results from this study showed that patients who underwent treatment following Wuhan Protocol had similar OS and EFS rates compared to those in developed countries. However, the protocol remains to be further optimized in standardizing surgical resection (including liver transplantation), refining risk stratification and risk-based chemotherapy.

a b s t r a c tInformation retrieval is a long established subfield of library and information science. Since its inception in the early-to mid -1950s, it has grown as a result, in part, of well-regarded retrieval system evaluation exercises/campaigns, the proliferation of Web search engines, and the expansion of digital libraries. Although researchers have examined the intellectual structure and nature of the general field of library and information science, the same cannot be said about the subfield of information retrieval. We address that in this work by sketching the information retrieval intellectual landscape through visualizations of citation behaviors. Citation data for 10 years (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009) were retrieved from the Web of Science and analyzed using existing visualization techniques. Our results address information retrieval's co-authorship network, highly productive authors, highly cited journals and papers, author-assigned keywords, active institutions, and the import of ideas from other disciplines.