Bose-Einstein condensation in strong-coupling quark color superconductor near flavor SU(3) limit

Near the flavor SU(3) limit, we propose an analytical description for color-flavor-locked-type Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) phase in the Nambu Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. The diquark behaviors in light-flavor and strange-flavor-involved channels and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of bound diquark states are studied. When the attractive interaction between quarks is strong enough, a BCS-BEC crossover is predicted in the environment with color-flavor-locked pairing pattern. The resulting Bose-Einstein condensed phase is found to be an intergrade phase before the emergence of the previous-predicted BEC phase in two-flavor quark superconductor.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures; 2nd versio

Intrinsic-Stabilization Uni-Directional Quantum Key Distribution Between Beijing and Tianjin

Quantum key distribution provides unconditional security for communication. Unfortunately, current experiment schemes are not suitable for long-distance fiber transmission because of instability or backscattering. We present a uni-directional intrinsic-stabilization scheme that is based on Michelson-Faraday interferometers, in which reflectors are replaced with 90 degree Faraday mirrors. With the scheme, key exchange from Beijing to Tianjin over 125 kilometers with an average error rate is below 6% has been achieved and its limited distance exceeds 150 kilometers. Experimental result shows the system is insensitive to environment and can run over day and night without any break even in the noise workshop.Comment: 7 pages,4 figure

Effects of aminoguanidine on retinal apoptosis in mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy

<b>AIM:</b> To explore the protective effects of aminoguanidine (AG) on retinal apoptosis in mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR).<b>METHODS</b>:A total of 80 C57BL/6J mice, aged 7 days, were randomly divided into four groups:normal, high oxygen, high oxygen saline and high oxygen treated with AG. In the normal group, mice were housed in normoxic conditions from postnatal day P7 to P17. Mice in the other 3 groups were placed under hyperoxic conditions (75±2%O2) in an oxygen-regulated chamber for 5 days and subsequently placed in normoxic conditions for 5 days. Mice in the AG group were treated once daily, from P12 to P17, with AG hemisulfate (100mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally) dissolved in physiological saline. An equivalent amount of 0.9% physiological saline was administered, as above, to mice in the high oxygen saline group. Ten mice were randomly selected from each group on P14 and on P17, euthanized and the retinas examined. Apoptotic cells in the retina were detected using the terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) method. The expression of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the retina was detected by immunohistochemistry and changes in rod cells were observed using electron microscopy.<b>RESULTS</b>:TUNEL-positive cells and iNOS immunoreactive neurons were present in the inner nuclear and ganglion cell retinal layers of mice in the high oxygen group. The number of TUNEL-positive cells was significantly greater in the high oxygen group compared with the normal group (<i>t</i>=-20.81, <i>P</i>14d <0.05; <i>t</i>=-15.05, <i>P</i>17d<0.05). However, the number of TUNEL-positive cells in the AG treatment group was significantly lower (<i>t</i>=-13.21, <i>P</i>14d<0.05; <i>t</i>=-6.61,<i>P</i>17d <0.05) compared with the high oxygen group. The expression of iNOS was significantly higher in the high oxygen group compared with the normal group (<i>t</i>=-21.95, <i>P</i>14d<0.05; <i>t</i>=-17.30, <i>P</i>17d<0.05). However, the expression of iNOS in the AG treatment group was significantly lower (<i>t</i>=-12.17,<i>P</i>14d<0.05; <i>t</i>=-10.30,<i>P</i>17d<0.05) compared with the high oxygen group. The outer segments of the rods were disorganized and short in the high oxygen group. Rod morphology appeared to be slightly improved in the AG group.<b>CONCLUSION</b>:AG may protect retinal neurons in OIR by inhibiting apoptosis. The mechanism may be related to iNOS

KMT2A promotes melanoma cell growth by targeting hTERT signaling pathway.

Melanoma is an aggressive cutaneous malignancy, illuminating the exact mechanisms and finding novel therapeutic targets are urgently needed. In this study, we identified KMT2A as a potential target, which promoted the growth of human melanoma cells. KMT2A knockdown significantly inhibited cell viability and cell migration and induced apoptosis, whereas KMT2A overexpression effectively promoted cell proliferation in various melanoma cell lines. Further study showed that KMT2A regulated melanoma cell growth by targeting the hTERT-dependent signal pathway. Knockdown of KMT2A markedly inhibited the promoter activity and expression of hTERT, and hTERT overexpression rescued the viability inhibition caused by KMT2A knockdown. Moreover, KMT2A knockdown suppressed tumorsphere formation and the expression of cancer stem cell markers, which was also reversed by hTERT overexpression. In addition, the results from a xenograft mouse model confirmed that KMT2A promoted melanoma growth via hTERT signaling. Finally, analyses of clinical samples demonstrated that the expression of KMT2A and hTERT were positively correlated in melanoma tumor tissues, and KMT2A high expression predicted poor prognosis in melanoma patients. Collectively, our results indicate that KMT2A promotes melanoma growth by activating the hTERT signaling, suggesting that the KMT2A/hTERT signaling pathway may be a potential therapeutic target for melanoma

Excessive intraoperative blood loss independently predicts recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation

BACKGROUND: Several studies have investigated the effect of intraoperative blood loss (IBL) on recurrence of tumors. However, the independent effect of IBL on oncological outcome after liver transplantation (LT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. METHODS: A total of 479 patients who underwent LT for HCC from January 2001 to December 2012 at our institution were enrolled in this retrospective study. Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression methods were used to assess the recurrence rate, as well as its risk factors. Stratified analysis was performed to further examine the effect of IBL on HCC recurrence according to different characteristics of tumors. We also investigated the independent risk factors for excessive IBL using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 28 months (range, 1–131 months). Kaplan–Meier analysis with the log-rank test according to IBL at per liter intervals showed that IBL > 4 L was significantly associated with a higher recurrence rate (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified that IBL > 4 L (P < 0.001; hazard ratio [HR] = 2.32, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 1.60–3.36) was an independent risk factor for post-LT HCC recurrence, as well as age < 60 years, exceeding Milan criteria, α-fetoprotein levels > 400 ng/mL, and micro- and macrovascular invasion. IBL > 4 L (P < 0.001; HR = 2.45, 95 % CI = 1.64–3.66) was also independently associated with early (within 1 year) recurrence after LT. Furthermore, a significant correlation between IBL > 4 L and vascular invasion (P = 0.019) was found. IBL > 4 L was independently associated with HCC recurrence for patients with vascular invasion, but not for patients without vascular invasion. Finally, we found that the presence of ascites, model for end-stage liver disease score, and operation time were independent risk factors for IBL > 4 L. CONCLUSIONS: Excessive IBL is an independent predictor of HCC recurrence after LT, especially in patients with vascular invasion

Medical rescue of naval combat: challenges and future

There has been no large-scale naval combat in the last 30 years. With the rapid development of battleships, weapons manufacturing and electronic technology, naval combat will present some new characteristics. Additionally, naval combat is facing unprecedented challenges. In this paper, we discuss the topic of medical rescue at sea: what challenges we face and what we could do. The contents discussed in this paper contain battlefield self-aid buddy care, clinical skills, organized health services, medical training and future medical research programs. We also discuss the characteristics of modern naval combat, medical rescue challenges, medical treatment highlights and future developments of medical rescue at sea