Quantum phase transitions (QPTs) are usually associated with many-body systems in the thermodynamic limit when their ground states show abrupt changes at zero temperature with variation of a ...parameter in the Hamiltonian. Recently it has been realized that a QPT can also occur in a system composed of only a two-level atom and a single-mode bosonic field, described by the quantum Rabi model (QRM). Here we report an experimental demonstration of a QPT in the QRM using a
Yb
ion in a Paul trap. We measure the spin-up state population and the average phonon number of the ion as two order parameters and observe clear evidence of the phase transition via adiabatic tuning of the coupling between the ion and its spatial motion. An experimental probe of the phase transition in a fundamental quantum optics model without imposing the thermodynamic limit opens up a window for controlled study of QPTs and quantum critical phenomena.
Background
Acupuncture is used to treat chronic functional constipation (CFC) in China, despite limited evidence. We aim to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in managing CFC.
Methods
...A multicenter randomized controlled trial was performed involving 684 patients with CFC; the patients were randomly allocated to receive He acupuncture (n = 172), Shu‐mu acupuncture (n = 171), He‐shu‐mu acupuncture (n = 171), or oral administration of mosapride (n = 170). Sixteen sessions of acupuncture were given in the treatment duration of 4 weeks. The primary outcome was the change in spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs) at week 4 (at the end of treatment) compared to baseline. The secondary outcomes included stool consistency (Bristol scale), the degree of straining during defecation, and adverse events.
Key Results
The SBMs increased in all the four groups at week 4, and the magnitude of increase was equivalent in the four groups (He acupuncture, 2.7 95% CI, 2.3‐3.1; Shu‐mu acupuncture, 2.7 95% CI, 2.3‐3.0; He‐shu‐mu acupuncture, 2.2 95% CI, 1.9‐2.5; and mosapride, 2.4 95% CI, 2.0‐2.9; P = .226). However, the change in SBMs at week 8 was significantly smaller in mosapride group (1.4 95% CI, 1.0‐1.8) than the three acupuncture groups (2.4 95% CI, 2.1‐2.7, 2.3 95% CI, 1.9‐2.7, 2.1 95% CI, 1.7‐2.5 in He, Shu‐mu, and He‐shu‐mu group, respectively, P = .005).
Conclusions & Interferences
The three acupuncture treatments were as effective as mosapride in improving stool frequency and stool consistency in CFC, but the magnitude of the treatment effect is unknown due to the lack of sham acupuncture control.
The effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic functional constipation is unknown. Our study result showed that acupuncture treatments are as effective as mosapride in improving stool frequency and stool consistency.
Background and aims
Mast cells are the major effector cells in allergic disorders and many other informatory disorders. The mechanism of mast cell stabilization is not fully understood. Cumulative ...reports indicate that vitamin D (VitD) contributes to the homeostasis in the body. This study tests a hypothesis that VitD is required in the maintenance of the stability of mast cells.
Methods
The stability of mast cell lines, HMC1 cells, RBL‐2H3 cells, p815 cells, and mouse bone marrow‐derived mast cells (BMMC) was tested in the presence or absence of VitD3.
Results
Mast cells activated automatically in a VitD‐deficient environment. Exposure to calcitriol in the culture increased the expression of VitD receptor (VDR) in mast cells. VDR formed complexes with Lyn in mast cells to inhibit the binding of Lyn to the β chain of FcεRI and MyD88, which decreased the phosphorylation of Syk, decreased the levels of MAPK and NF‐κB. VDR bound to the promoter of TNF‐α to decrease the acetylation of histone H3/H4, RNA polymerase II and OCT1 (a transcription factor of TNF‐α) at the promoter locus and repressed the expression of TNF‐α in mast cells.
Conclusions
The data demonstrate that VitD is required to maintain the stability of mast cells. The deficiency of VitD results in mast cell activation.
Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) is associated with an increased risk of graft failure and severe graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Recent studies have shown that ...mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) display potent immunosuppressive effects and can support normal hematopoiesis. In a multi-center trial, we co-transplanted culture-expanded donor-derived bone marrow MSCs (BM-MSCs) into 35 children with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) undergoing haplo-HSCT. All 35 patients (100%) achieved hematopoietic reconstitution and showed sustained full donor chimerism. The median time for myeloid engraftment was 14 days (range 10–22 days), while that for platelet engraftment was 18 days (range 9–36 days). The incidence of grade II–IV acute GVHD and chronic GVHD was 25.71 and 22.86%, respectively. The overall survival rate was 85.71% with a median of 22 months (range 3.5–37 months). The combined transplantation of haploidentical HSCs and BM-MSCs into children with SAA without an HLA-identical sibling donor is relatively safe and may represent an effective new therapy to improve survival rates and reduce the risk of graft failure.
Background and Aims
Mast cell activation interferes with the effects of allergen‐specific immunotherapy (SIT). Galectin‐1 (Gal‐1) is capable of regulating immune cells’ functions. This study tests ...the hypothesis that administration of Gal‐1 promotes and prolongs the efficacy of SIT via suppressing mast cell activation.
Methods
An intestinal allergy mouse model was developed. The coadministration of SIT and Gal‐1 on suppression of the allergic responses, prevention of mast cell activation, and generation of antigen‐specific regulatory T cells (Treg) in the intestine was observed in sensitized mice.
Results
The coadministration of Gal‐1 and SIT markedly suppressed the allergic responses in the mouse intestine vs the use of either SIT alone or Gal‐1 alone. The Gal‐1 binds to the IgE/FcɛRI complexes on the surface of mast cells to prevent mast cell activation during SIT. Gal‐1 promoted the SIT‐generated allergen‐specific Tregs in the intestine of sensitized mice. Coadministration of Gal‐1 and SIT significantly enhanced the efficacy of immunotherapy in suppressing allergic responses in the intestine, which lasted for at least for 12 months.
Conclusions
Long‐term effects of specific immunotherapy on intestinal allergy can be achieved with Gal‐1/SIT therapy by inhibiting mast cell activation and facilitating Treg development.
Background and aims
The function of interleukin (IL)‐10‐producing B cells (B10 cell) is compromised in patients with allergic diseases. Protease‐activated receptor (PAR)‐2 has immunoregulatory ...functions. This study aimed to elucidate the role of PAR2 in the suppression of IL‐10 expression in peripheral B cells.
Methods
Peripheral blood B cells were collected from patients with allergic rhinitis (AR). A correlation between the expression of Bcl2‐like protein 12 (Bcl2L12) and IL‐10 in the B cells was analyzed. An AR mouse model was developed.
Results
We observed that the expression of IL‐10 was lower in the peripheral B cells from patients with airway allergy. A negative correlation was identified between the expression of IL‐10 and PAR2 in B cells. Activation of PAR2 of B cells increased the expression of Bcl2L12 and suppression of LPS‐induced IL‐10 expression, which were inhibited by knocking down the Bcl2L12 gene. Treating B cells from AR patients with Bcl2L12‐shRNA‐carrying liposomes reversed the capability of IL‐10 expression and the immunosuppressive function. Administration of Bcl2L12 shRNA‐carrying liposomes attenuated experimental AR in mice.
Conclusions
Activation of PAR2 inhibits the expression of IL‐10 in B cells, which can be reversed by treating B cells with Bcl2L12 shRNA‐carrying liposomes. The data suggest that regulation of Bcl2L12 may be a novel approach in the treatment for AR.
To retrospectively analyze the treatment status of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in China.
Data of chronic phase (CP) and ...accelerated phase (AP) CML patients diagnosed from January 2006 to December 2022 from 77 centers, ≥18 years old, and receiving initial imatinib, nilotinib, dasatinib or flumatinib-therapy within 6 months after diagnosis in China with complete data were retrospectively interrogated. The choice of initial TKI, current TKI medications, treatment switch and reasons, treatment responses and outcomes as well as the variables associated with them were analyzed.
6 893 patients in CP (
=6 453, 93.6%) or AP (
=440, 6.4%) receiving initial imatinib (
=4 906, 71.2%), nilotinib (
=1 157, 16.8%), dasatinib (
=298, 4.3%) or flumatinib (
=532, 7.2%) -therapy. With the median follow-up of 43 (
22-75) months, 1 581 (22.9%) patients switched TKI due to resistance (
=1 055, 15.3%), intolerance (
=248, 3.6%), pursuit of better efficacy (
=168,
Summary
Vitamin D receptor (VDR) mediates various biochemical activities between the cytoplasm and the nucleus in the cell. The nucleotide‐binding, oligomerization domain (NOD)‐like receptor family, ...pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) protein is involved in the T helper type 2 (Th2) response. This study tests a hypothesis that VDR interacts with NLRP3 to restrict the Th2‐biased response. In this study, VDR–/– mice and WT (WT) mice were used. Th2 cell differentiation between VDR–/– mice and WT mice was observed. We observed that CD4+ T cell activation was higher in VDR–/– mice. The VDR–/–CD4+ T cells were prone to Th2 polarization. VDR–/– mice produced more immunoglobulin (Ig)E. VDR bound NLRP3 to prevent Th2 differentiation by restricting IL4 gene transcription. Th2 biased inflammation spontaneously developed in the intestine of VDR–/– mice. In conclusion, VDR binds NLRP3 to restrict IL4 gene transcription and prevent biased Th2 polarization.
VDR expression is lower in CD4+ T cells of FA patients; VDR is negatively correlated with Th2 cytokines in CD4+ T cells of FA patients
Preoperative evaluation of the number of lymph node metastasis (LNM) is the basis of individual treatment of locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC). However, the routinely used preoperative ...determination method is not accurate enough.
We enrolled 730 LAGC patients from five centers in China and one center in Italy, and divided them into one primary cohort, three external validation cohorts, and one international validation cohort. A deep learning radiomic nomogram (DLRN) was built based on the images from multiphase computed tomography (CT) for preoperatively determining the number of LNM in LAGC. We comprehensively tested the DLRN and compared it with three state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, we investigated the value of the DLRN in survival analysis.
The DLRN showed good discrimination of the number of LNM on all cohorts overall C-indexes (95% confidence interval): 0.821 (0.785–0.858) in the primary cohort, 0.797 (0.771–0.823) in the external validation cohorts, and 0.822 (0.756–0.887) in the international validation cohort. The nomogram performed significantly better than the routinely used clinical N stages, tumor size, and clinical model (P < 0.05). Besides, DLRN was significantly associated with the overall survival of LAGC patients (n = 271).
A deep learning-based radiomic nomogram had good predictive value for LNM in LAGC. In staging-oriented treatment of gastric cancer, this preoperative nomogram could provide baseline information for individual treatment of LAGC.
•Evaluation of the lymph node metastasis (LNM) is the basis of individual treatment of locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC).•Deep leaning radiomic nomogram (DLRN) based on CT images can preoperatively determine the number of LNM in LAGC.•DLRN is significantly superior to the routinely used clinical N stages, tumor size, and clinical model.•DLRN is significantly associated with the overall survival of LAGC.
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