Soluble Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (sICAM-1) has emerged as an inflammatory biomarker of many essential functions. We investigated the level of sICAM-1 influenced by Clonorchis sinensis (C. sinensis) co-infection in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients to explore the degree of liver tissue inflammation and liver function damage after co-infection. The study included data from patients with C. sinensis mono-infection (n=27), hepatitis B virus (HBV) mono-infection (n=32), C. sinensis and HBV co-infection (n=24), post-hepatitis B liver cirrhosis (n=18), post-hepatitis B liver cirrhosis co-infected with C. sinensis (n=16), and healthy controls (n=39). The level of sICAM-1 was measured with specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Compared to the healthy control group, all the experimental groups had significantly higher serum sICAM-1 levels. The levels of sICAM-1 in co-infected groups were significantly higher compared to the mono-infection groups and were positively correlated with the levels of glutamate aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Our research findings confirmed that co-infection could exacerbate liver tissue inflammation and liver function damage in patients, could raise the sICAM-1 level, and may lead to the chronicity of HBV infection. These results provide clues for pathological mechanism study and formulating treatment plans.

The proton-boron (p 11 B) reaction is regarded as the holy grail of advanced fusion fuels, where the primary reaction produces 3 energetic α particles. However, due to the high nuclear bounding energy and bremsstrahlung energy losses, energy gain from the p 11 B fusion is hard to achieve in thermal fusion conditions. Owing to advances in intense laser technology, the p11 B fusion has drawn renewed attention by using an intense laser-accelerated proton beam to impact a boron-11 target. As one of the most influential works in this field, Labaune et al. first experimentally found that states of boron (solid or plasma) play an important role in the yield of α particles. This exciting experimental finding rouses an attempt to measure the nuclear fusion cross section in a plasma environment. However, up to now, there is still no quantitative explanation. Based on large-scale, fully kinetic computer simulations, the inner physical mechanism of yield increment is uncovered, and a quantitative explanation is given. Our results indicate the yield increment is attributed to the reduced energy loss of the protons under the synergetic influences of degeneracy effects and collective electromagnetic effects. Our work may serve as a reference for not only analyzing or improving further experiments of the p 11 B fusion but also investigating other beam-plasma systems, such as ion-driven inertial confinement fusions.

This article uses the enactment of China’s 2007 Property Law (the Law), which reduces the risk of expropriation by local governments, as the setting to investigate the importance of property rights protection for private firm investment. Using propensity score matching and a difference-in-differences design, we find that firms facing weaker property rights protection prior to the Law significantly increase their investment and investment efficiency after the Law. Cross-sectional analyses document evidence consistent with a decrease in firms’ perceived expropriation risk as the main mechanism underlying the Law’s effect. Finally, we show that the Law improves local economic outcomes and employment.

The BEBOP (Binaries Escorted By Orbiting Planets) survey is a search for circumbinary planets using the radial velocity spectrographs HARPS and SOPHIE, currently focusing on single-lined binaries with a mass ratio < 0.3. Circumbinary systems are an important testing ground for planet formation theories as the dynamically complex influence of the binary makes planet formation and survival more difficult. Here we present the results of the survey so far including: confirmed planets such as BEBOP-1c the first circumbinary planet detected in radial velocity; the status of our observations; and preliminary occurrence rates. We compare the early results of the radial velocity survey to the population of circumbinary planets discovered in transit, and suggest that there may be a population of inflated planets close to the inner binary which are detectable in transit but more difficult in radial velocity. Using time-lag tidal theory, we show that this inflation is unlikely caused by tides.

A new near-infrared direct acceleration mechanism driven by Laguerre–Gaussian laser is proposed to stably accelerate and concentrate electron slice both in longitudinal and transversal directions in vacuum. Three-dimensional simulations show that a 2-μm circularly polarized ${\mathrm{LG}}_p^l$ (p = 0, l = 1, σz = −1) laser can directly manipulate attosecond electron slices in additional dimensions (angular directions) and give them annular structures and angular momentums. These annular vortex attosecond electron slices are expected to have some novel applications such as in the collimation of antiprotons in conventional linear accelerators, edge-enhancement electron imaging, structured X-ray generation, and analysis and manipulation of nanomaterials.

We investigate incumbent brands’ response to entry and increased competition in a large retail setting. We extend the nonprice competition and manufacturer stocking literatures by examining if incumbent brands increase quality, specifically increasing the number of varieties (product-line length), in response to entry of a new local brand in the ice cream market. We use the entry of a new, local, super-premium ice cream brand in a large supermarket chain as a quasi-natural experiment and empirically examine if incumbent ice cream brands increased the product-line length in stores carrying the new brand. Using Poisson difference-in-differences estimators, we find that incumbent brands increased the number of varieties offered by 0.9 (3 percent) after the new brand's entry, with most of the responses coming from super-premium ice cream, which increased the number of varieties offered by 2.9 (12 percent) product choices. These findings contribute new insights into quality changes, manufacturer stocking decisions, and nonprice competition associated with entry of a local brand into the food retail sector.

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Our data identify a novel candidate for combination strategy in melanoma treatment, and can inform clinicians in their decision-making process regarding therapeutic intervention for melanoma patients. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) is a novel source of cyclic AMP (cAMP). In melanoma, nuclear sAC localization has an established diagnostic utility and we newly found that nuclear sAC functions as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting Hippo pathway, which affects treatment response. Here, we examine the effect of nuclear sAC on melanoma treatment response. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We developed a doxycycline inducible system for increasing sAC activity only in the nucleus. We assessed whether nuclear sAC activity affects treatment response, using BRAFV600 human melanoma cell lines. Using a clonogenic assay, we examined how nuclear sAC activity affects growth inhibition in the presence of a BRAF inhibitor, vemurafenib. Our findings will be confirmed in vivo using tumor xenografts. After tumor formation in NSG mice, mice will be randomized to be fed normal or doxycycline chow for nuclear sAC induction, then subdivided to receive vehicle or vemurafenib to examine the effect of nuclear sAC activity on treatment response in vivo. We will also compare melanoma biopsies collected before and after treatment with BRAF inhibitors to assess how nuclear sAC staining affects tumor morphology in vivo. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: So far, nuclear sAC activity has rendered SkMel178 and M263 cell lines more susceptible to vemurafenib. Cell viability was inversely correlated both with vemurafenib and with doxycycline concentration. Cell viability after vemurafenib treatment was dramatically reduced when nuclear sAC was activated. It appears that nuclear sAC enhances the sensitivity of BRAF mutant melanomas to vemurafenib in vitro. We anticipate that xenografts of these cells in mice will be more susceptible to vemurafenib when nuclear sAC is activated. We also anticipate that positive nuclear sAC staining will correlate with a favorable response to therapy. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: Targeted therapy with BRAF inhibitors is used in late-stage melanomas, but its use is limited as patients invariably acquire resistance. Here, we identified nuclear sAC activation as a novel candidate for combination strategy. Our data will also inform clinicians how best to integrate this biomarker into their decision-making regarding therapy.

Establishing accurate population size estimates (PSE) is important for prioritising and planning provision of services. Multiple source capture−recapture sampling method increases PSE accuracy and reliability. In August 2018, the three-source capture−recapture (3S-CRC) method was employed with a stringent assumption of sample independence to estimate the number of female sex workers (FSW) in Rwanda. Using Rwanda 2017 FSW hotspots mapping data, street and venue-based FSW were sampled at the sector level of each province and tagged with two unique gifts. Each capture was completed within one week to minimise FSW migration between provinces and recall bias. The three captures had 1042, 1204 and 1488 FSW. There were 111 FSW recaptured between captures 1 and 2; 237 between captures 2 and 3; 203 between captures 1 and 3 and 46 captured in all three. The PSE for street and venue-based FSW in Rwanda lies within 95% credible set: 8328–22 806 with corresponding median of 13 716 FSW. The 3S-CRC technique was low-cost and relatively easy to use for PSE in hard-to-reach populations. This estimate provides the basis for determining the denominators to assess HIV programme performance towards FSW and epidemic control and warrants further PSE for home- and cyber-based FSW in Rwanda.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global health threat. A hospital in Zhuhai adopted several measures in Fever Clinic Management (FCM) to respond to the outbreak of COVID-19. FCM has been proved to be effective in preventing nosocomial cross infection. Faced with the emergency, the hospital undertook creative operational steps in relation to the control and spread of COVID-19, with special focuses on physical and administrative layout of buildings, staff training and preventative procedures. The first operational step was to set up triaging stations at all entrances and then complete a standard and qualified fever clinic, which was isolated from the other buildings within our hospital complex. Secondly, the hospital established its human resource reservation for emergency response and the allocation of human resources to ensure strict and standardised training methods through the hospital for all medical staff and ancillary employees. Thirdly, the hospital divided the fever clinic into partitioned areas and adapted a three-level triaging system. The experiences shared in this paper would be of practical help for the facilities that are encountering or will encounter the challenges of COVID-19, i.e. to prevent nosocomial cross infection among patients and physicians.

In this paper, the authors propose a culture-centred tool called Speculative Ethnography to support the practice of design for the speculative future. Most explorations of tools and techniques of design for the speculative future focus on materialising the speculation. Instead, Speculative Ethnography provides a guideline to help designers define their speculation through the scientific imagination of the plausible future. It ensures the effectiveness of design for the speculative future and supports the interaction of culture and design for the speculative future.

In the digital era, products’ forms do not necessarily follow their function. Design fixation may happen when a designer attempts to generate diverse concepts. New design heuristics for digital design were extracted to support designers in the early conceptual design stage. Ten design heuristics were extracted from 998 RedDot award-winning concept designs (2013-2017) through a five-step process. It was preliminarily tested by four practitioners and proved to have positively influenced their conceptual design.

Background: Since January 1, 2016 2358 people have died from opioid poisoning in Alberta. Buprenorphine/naloxone (bup/nal) is the recommended first line treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) and this treatment can be initiated in emergency departments and urgent care centres (EDs). Aim Statement: This project aims to spread a quality improvement intervention to all 107 adult EDs in Alberta by March 31, 2020. The intervention supports clinicians to initiate bup/nal for eligible individuals and provide rapid referrals to OUD treatment clinics. Measures & Design: Local ED teams were identified (administrators, clinical nurse educators, physicians and, where available, pharmacists and social workers). Local teams were supported by a provincial project team (project manager, consultant, and five physician leads) through a multi-faceted implementation process using provincial order sets, clinician education products, and patient-facing information. We used administrative ED and pharmacy data to track the number of visits where bup/nal was given in ED, and whether discharged patients continued to fill any opioid agonist treatment (OAT) prescription 30 days after their index ED visit. OUD clinics reported the number of referrals received from EDs and the number attending their first appointment. Patient safety event reports were tracked to identify any unintended negative impacts. Evaluation/Results: We report data from May 15, 2018 (program start) to September 31, 2019. Forty-nine EDs (46% of 107) implemented the program and 22 (45% of 49) reported evaluation data. There were 5385 opioid-related visits to reporting ED sites after program adoption. Bup/nal was given during 832 ED visits (663 unique patients): 7 visits in the 1st quarter the program operated, 55 in the 2nd, 74 in the 3rd, 143 in the 4th, 294 in the 5th, and 255 in the 6th. Among 505 unique discharged patients with 30 day follow up data available 319 (63%) continued to fill any OAT prescription after receiving bup/nal in ED. 16 (70%) of 23 community clinics provided data. EDs referred patients to these clinics 440 times, and 236 referrals (54%) attended their first follow-up appointment. Available data may under-report program impact. 5 patient safety events have been reported, with no harm or minimal harm to the patient. Discussion/Impact: Results demonstrate effective spread and uptake of a standardized provincial ED based early medical intervention program for patients who live with OUD.