We present a three-dimensional (3D) extinction map of the southern sky. The map covers the SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS) area of ∼14,000 deg2 and has spatial resolutions between 6 9 and 27′. Based ...on the multi-band photometry of SMSS, the Two Micron All Sky Survey, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Survey, and the Gaia mission, we have estimated values of the r-band extinction for ∼19 million stars with the spectral energy distribution analysis. Together with the distances calculated from the Gaia data release 2 (DR2) parallaxes, we have constructed a 3D extinction map of the southern sky. By combining our 3D extinction map with those from the literature, we present an all-sky 3D extinction map, and use it to explore the 3D distribution of the Galactic dust grains. We use two different models, one consisting of a single disk and another of two disks, to fit the 3D distribution of the Galactic dust grains. The data is better fitted by a two-disk model, yielding smaller values of the Bayesian Information Criterion. The best-fit model has scale heights of 73 and 225 pc for the "thin" and "thick" dust disks, respectively.
This is the second installment for the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Quasar Survey, which includes quasars observed from 2013 September to 2015 June. There are ...9024 confirmed quasars in DR2 and 10911 in DR3. After cross-match with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasar catalogs and NED, 12126 quasars are discovered independently. Among them, 2225 quasars were released by SDSS DR12 QSO catalog in 2014 after we finalized the survey candidates. 1801 sources were identified by SDSS DR14 as QSOs. The remaining 8100 quasars are considered as newly founded, and among them, 6887 quasars can be given reliable emission line measurements and the estimated black hole masses. Quasars found in LAMOST are mostly located at low-to-moderate redshifts, with a mean value of 1.5. The highest redshift observed in DR2 and DR3 is 5. We applied emission line measurements to H , Hβ, Mg ii, and C iv. We deduced the monochromatic continuum luminosities using photometry data, and estimated the virial black hole masses for the newly discovered quasars. Results are compiled into a quasar catalog, which will be available online.
The aim of this study was to develop a widely accepted prognostic nomogram for extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal-type (NKTCL). The clinical data from 1383 patients with NKTCL treated at 10 ...participating institutions between 2000 and 2011 were reviewed. A nomogram was developed that predicted overall survival (OS) based on the Cox proportional hazards model. To contrast the utility of the nomogram against the widely used Ann Arbor staging system, the International Prognostic Index (IPI) and the Korean Prognostic Index (KPI), we used the concordance index (C-index) and a calibration curve to determine its predictive and discriminatory capacity. The 5-year OS rate was 60.3% for the entire group. The nomogram included five important variables based on a multivariate analysis of the primary cohort: stage; age; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status; lactate dehydrogenase; and primary tumor invasion. The calibration curve showed that the nomogram was able to predict 5-year OS accurately. The C-index of the nomogram for OS prediction was 0.72 for both cohorts, which was superior to the predictive power (range, 0.56-0.64) of the Ann Arbor stage, IPI and KPI in the primary and validation cohorts. The proposed nomogram provides an individualized risk estimate of OS in patients with NKTCL.
High tumor mutational burden (TMB-H) is correlated with enhanced objective response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS) for certain cancers receiving immunotherapy. This study aimed to ...investigate the safety and efficacy of toripalimab, a humanized programmed death-1 (PD-1) antibody, in advanced gastric cancer (AGC), and the predictive survival benefit of TMB and PD-L1.
We reported on the AGC cohort of phase Ib/II trial evaluating the safety and activity of toripalimab in patients with AGC, oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. In cohort 1, 58 chemo-refractory AGC patients received toripalimab (3 mg/kg d1, Q2W) as a monotherapy. In cohort 2, 18 chemotherapy-naive AGC patients received toripalimab (360 mg d1, Q3W) with oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 qd, d1, capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 b.i.d., d1–d14, Q3W as first-line treatment. Primary end point was ORR. Biomarkers such as PD-L1 and TMB were evaluated for correlation with clinical efficacy.
In cohort 1, the ORR was 12.1% and the disease control rate (DCR) was 39.7%. Median PFS was 1.9 months and median OS was 4.8 months. The TMB-H group showed significant superior OS than the TMB-L group 14.6 versus 4.0 months, HR = 0.48 (96% CI 0.24–0.96), P = 0.038, while PD-L1 overexpression did not correlate with significant survival benefit. A 77.6% of patients experienced at least one treatment-related adverse event (TRAE), and 22.4% of patients experienced a grade 3 or higher TRAE. In cohort 2, the ORR was 66.7% and the DCR was 88.9%. A 94.4% of patients experienced at least one TRAE and 38.9% of patients experienced grade 3 or higher TRAEs.
Toripalimab has demonstrated a manageable safety profile and promising antitumor activity in AGC patients, especially in combination with XELOX. High TMB may be a predictive marker for OS of AGC patients receiving toripalimab as a single agent.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02915432.
Studies suggest that dysfunction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a possible contributor to the pathology and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Several studies report reduced ...peripheral blood levels of BDNF in AD, but findings are inconsistent. This study sought to quantitatively summarize the clinical BDNF data in patients with AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI, a prodromal stage of AD) with a meta-analytical technique. A systematic search of Pubmed, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library identified 29 articles for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Random-effects meta-analysis showed that patients with AD had significantly decreased baseline peripheral blood levels of BDNF compared with healthy control (HC) subjects (24 studies, Hedges' g=-0.339, 95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.572 to -0.106, P=0.004). MCI subjects showed a trend for decreased BDNF levels compared with HC subjects (14 studies, Hedges' g=-0.201, 95% CI=-0.413 to 0.010, P=0.062). No differences were found between AD and MCI subjects in BDNF levels (11 studies, Hedges' g=0.058, 95% CI=-0.120 to 0.236, P=0.522). Interestingly, the effective sizes and statistical significance improved after excluding studies with reported medication in patients (between AD and HC: 18 studies, Hedges' g=-0.492, P<0.001; between MCI and HC: 11 studies, Hedges' g=-0.339, P=0.003). These results strengthen the clinical evidence that AD or MCI is accompanied by reduced peripheral blood BDNF levels, supporting an association between the decreasing levels of BDNF and the progression of AD.
ABSTRACT
We report the phase-connected timing ephemeris, polarization pulse profiles, Faraday rotation measurements, and Rotating-Vector-Model (RVM) fitting results of 12 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) ...discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST survey (CRAFTS). The timing campaigns were carried out with FAST and Arecibo over 3 yr. 11 of the 12 pulsars are in neutron star–white dwarf binary systems, with orbital periods between 2.4 and 100 d. 10 of them have spin periods, companion masses, and orbital eccentricities that are consistent with the theoretical expectations for MSP–Helium white dwarf (He WD) systems. The last binary pulsar (PSR J1912−0952) has a significantly smaller spin frequency and a smaller companion mass, the latter could be caused by a low orbital inclination for the system. Its orbital period of 29 d is well within the range of orbital periods where some MSP–He WD systems have shown anomalous eccentricities, however, the eccentricity of PSR J1912−0952 is typical of what one finds for the remaining MSP–He WD systems.
A consequent tendency toward high-performance quantum information processing is to develop the fully integrated photonic chip. Here, we report the on-chip generation and manipulation of entangled ...photons based on reconfigurable lithium-niobate waveguide circuits. By introducing a periodically poled structure into the waveguide circuits, two individual photon-pair sources with a controllable electro-optic phase shift are produced within a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer, resulting in a deterministically separated identical photon pair. The state is characterized by 92.9±0.9% visibility Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. The photon flux reaches ∼1.4×10(7) pairs nm-1 mW-1. The whole chip is designed to contain nine similar units to produce identical photon pairs spanning the telecom C and L band by the flexible engineering of nonlinearity. Our work presents a scenario for on-chip engineering of different photon sources and paves the way to fully integrated quantum technologies.
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