[Analysis of clinical characteristics of children with adenoid hypertrophy and pharyngolaryngeal reflux].

Objectives: To explore the clinical characteristics of children with adenoid hypertrophy (AH) and laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) by detecting the expression of pepsin in adenoids as a standard for AH with LPR. Methods: A total of 190 children who were admitted for surgical treatment due to AH were included in the study. The main clinical symptoms of the patients were recorded, and the degree of adenoid hypertrophy was evaluated. Before the surgery, Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) and Reflux Finding Score (RFS) were used to evaluate the reflux symptoms. After the surgery, pepsin immunohistochemical staining was performed on the adenoid tissue, and according to the staining results, the patients were divided into study group (pepsin staining positive) and control group (pepsin staining negative). SPSS 19.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Quantitative data conforming to normal distribution between the two groups were tested by two-independent sample t test, and quantitative data with skewed distribution were tested by Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The positive rate of pepsin staining in the 190 AH patients was 78.4% (149/190). The study group had higher levels of preoperative symptoms such as erythema and/or congestion of the pharynx(2.1±0.7 vs. 1.8±0.6,t=2.23), vocal cord edema[1.0(0, 1.0) vs. 1.0(0, 1.0), Z=2.00], diffuse laryngeal edema[0(0, 1.0) vs. 0(0, 0), Z=2.48], posterior commissure hypertrophy[(1.4±0.6 vs. 1.1±0.5), t=2.63], and a higher total score on the RFS scale than the control group(6.2±2.7 vs. 5.0±2.6, t=2.47), with statistical differences (P<0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of RFS score in diagnosing AH with LPR were 24.8% and 80.5%, respectively. When RFS>5 was used as the positive threshold, the sensitivity and specificity of RFS score in diagnosing AH with LPR were 61.1% and 58.5%, respectively. There was a statistical difference in the number of positive cases of RFS score between the study group and the control group(91 vs. 17,χ2=5.04,P=0.032). Conclusions: LPR is common in AH children. Children with AH and LPR have specific performance in electronic laryngoscopy, such as erythema with edema in the pharynx, posterior commissure hypertrophy, and vocal cord edema.

[Analysis of clinical characteristics and drug treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in children: a single center study].

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics and efficacy of drug treatment in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at different ages of onset. Methods: The clinical data of 87 children with IBD admitted to Department of Gastroenterology in Children's Hospital, Capital Institute of Pediatrics from January 2009 to December 2018 were collected. The patients were divided into four groups according to the age of onset: 0 -<2 years old group (36 cases), 2 -<6 years old group (10 cases), 6 -<10 years old group (12 cases) and 10 -<18 years old group (29 cases). The clinical manifestations, laboratory examination, endoscopic findings, pathologic and genetic changes, and treatment were compared among different age groups with chi-square test or Fisher's exact text. Results: (1) A total of 87 patients were diagnosed with IBD, including 50 Crohn's disease (CD) (57%), 25 ulcerative colitis (UC) (29%) and 12 unclassified inflammatory bowel disease (IBD-U) (14%). (2) Patients with fever accounted for 78% (28/36) and 8/10 in the 0 -<2 years old group and 2 -<6 years old group, respectively. Patients with abdominal pain and perianal diseases accounted for 6% (2/36) and 47% (17/36) in the 0 -<2 years old group, and their proportions were significantly different among the four groups (χ(2)=8.369, 40.317 and 13.130, all P<0.05). (3) Leukocytosis, thrombocytosis and anemia were more common in the 0-<2 years old group, seen in 72% (26/36), 31% (11/36) and 81% (29/36), respectively. There were significant differences in the changes of complete blood count among the four groups (χ(2)=21.919, 8.095 and 11.520, all P<0.05). (4) Colonic involvement accounted for 85% (17/20) in the 0 -<2 years old CD patients. While in the CD patients over 6 years old, 61% (14/23) had inflammation of ileum and colon, with a significant difference compared to that in patients under 6 years old (19% (5/27) , χ(2)=9.455, P=0.003). Also, the location of bowel inflammation among the four groups were significantly different (χ(2)=21.120, P<0.01). (5) Noncaseating granulomas were found in 15 (30%) CD patients, and crypt abscess was found in 11 (44%) UC patients. (6) Among the 24 patients whose genes were analyzed by high throughput sequencing, 12 had pathogenic single gene mutation. (7) There were 25 patients treated with total enteral nutrition. Among the 25 patients treated with thalidomide, 20 (80%) had clinical remission or partial remission. Among the 19 CD patients treated with infliximab (IFX), 14 had clinical remission at the 6(th) week of treatment, and the proportion of remission maintenance at the 30(th) week of treatment was 12/14. (8) The rate of clinical remission or partial remission was 64% (23/36) in the 0 -<2 years old group, 8/10 in the 2 -<6 years old group, 11/12 in the 6 -<10 years old group, and 83% (24/29) in the 10 -<18 years old group. Conclusions: The proportion of CD was higher than that of UC in this study. Infant onset inflammatory bowel disease was more likely to present with perianal lesions, and was usually associated with leukocytosis, thrombocytosis and anemia, and has high possibility of single gene mutation. IFX may be effective in treating CD.

Experimental study on synergistic effect of HIFU treatment of tumors using Bifidobacterium bound with cationic phase-change nanoparticles.

OBJECTIVE: Anaerobic bacteria can enter the solid tumor in the hypoxic region to colonize and proliferate. Aggregation of nanoparticles in the tumor area can enhance molecular imaging and therapy. It is hypothesized that the combination of the two could possibly achieve better imaging and tumor treatment. This study presents a biocompatible bacteria-based system that can deliver cationic phase-change nanoparticles (CPNs) into solid tumor to achieve enhanced imaging and treatment integration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cationic phase-change nanoparticles (CPNs) and Bifidobacterium longum (BF) were mixed to determine the best binding rate and were placed in an agar phantom for ultrasonography. BF-CPNs complex adhesion to breast cancer cells was observed by laser confocal microscopy. In vivo, BF-CPNs and control groups were injected into tumors in breast cancer nude mouse models. Nanoparticles distribution was observed by ultrasound and in vivo fluorescence imaging. HIFU ablation was performed after injection. Gross and histological changes were compared and synergy was evaluated. RESULTS: Bifidobacterium longum (BF) and CPNs were combined by electrostatic adsorption. The BF-CPNs particles could increase the deposition of energy after liquid-gas phase-change during High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) irradiation of tumor. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a valid method in diagnosis and therapy integration for providing stronger imaging, longer retention time, and more effective tumor treatment.

Parametric Study of Amorphous High-Entropy Alloys formation from two New Perspectives: Atomic Radius Modification and Crystalline Structure of Alloying Elements.

Chemical and topological parameters have been widely used for predicting the phase selection in high-entropy alloys (HEAs). Nevertheless, previous studies could be faulted due to the small number of available data points, the negligence of kinetic effects, and the insensitivity to small compositional changes. Here in this work, 92 TiZrHfM, TiZrHfMM, TiZrHfMMM (M = Fe, Cr, V, Nb, Al, Ag, Cu, Ni) HEAs were prepared by melt spinning, to build a reliable and sufficiently large material database to inspect the robustness of previously established parameters. Modification of atomic radii by considering the change of local electronic environment in alloys, was critically found out to be superior in distinguishing the formation of amorphous and crystalline alloys, when compared to using atomic radii of pure elements in topological parameters. Moreover, crystal structures of alloying element were found to play an important role in the amorphous phase formation, which was then attributed to how alloying hexagonal-close-packed elements and face-centered-cubic or body-centered-cubic elements can affect the mixing enthalpy. Findings from this work not only provide parametric studies for HEAs with new and important perspectives, but also reveal possibly a hidden connection among some important concepts in various fields.

[Target gene sequence capture and next generation sequencing technology to diagnose four children with Alagille syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To make genetic diagnosis of Alagille syndrome (ALGS) patients using target gene sequence capture and next generation sequencing technology. METHOD: Target gene sequence capture and next generation sequencing were used to detect ALGS gene of 4 patients. They were hospitalized at the Affiliated Hospital, Capital Institute of Pediatrics between January 2014 and December 2015, referred to clinical diagnosis of ALGS typical and atypical respectively in 2 cases. Blood samples were collected from patients and their parents and genomic DNA was extracted from lymphocytes. Target gene sequence capture and next generation sequencing was detected. Sanger sequencing was used to confirm the results of the patients and their parents. RESULT: Cholestasis, heart defects, inverted triangular face and butterfly vertebrae were presented as main clinical features in 4 male patients. The first hospital visiting ages ranged from 3 months and 14 days to 3 years and 1 month. The age of onset ranged from 3 days to 42 days (median 23 days). According to the clinical diagnostic criteria of ALGS, patient 1 and patient 2 were considered as typical ALGS. The other 2 patients were considered as atypical ALGS. Four Jagged 1(JAG1) pathogenic mutations were detected. Three different missense mutations were detected in patient 1 to patient 3 with ALGS(c.839C>T(p.W280X), c. 703G>A(p.R235X), c. 1720C>T(p.V574M)). The JAG1 mutation of patient 3 was first reported. Patient 4 had one novel insertion mutation (c.1779_1780insA(p.Ile594AsnfsTer23)). Parental analysis verified that the JAG1 missense mutation of 3 patients were de novo. The results of sanger sequencing was consistent with the results of the next generation sequencing. CONCLUSION: Target gene sequence capture combined with next generation sequencing can detect two pathogenic genes in ALGS and test genes of other related diseases in infantile cholestatic diseases simultaneously and presents a high throughput, high efficiency and low cost. It may provide molecular diagnosis and treatment for clinicians with good clinical application prospects.

Serum hepcidin in haemodialysis patients: associations with iron status and microinflammation.

Hepcidin plays a key role in iron homeostasis. This cross-sectional study measured the serum hepcidin levels of 48 maintenance haemodialysis patients and 20 age-matched healthy control subjects using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA). Serum hepcidin, interleukin (IL)-6 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were significantly higher in maintenance haemodialysis patients compared with control subjects. In all patients, there was a positive correlation between serum hepcidin levels and ferritin, transferrin saturation and IL-6, and an inverse correlation between serum hepcidin and unsaturated iron-binding capacity, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and transferrin. Linear regression analyses showed that ferritin and TIBC were independently associated with serum hepcidin levels. In conclusion, serum hepcidin levels are associated with iron status and microinflammation (defined as hsCRP < 15 mg/l, without clinical manifestation of inflammation) in maintenance haemodialysis patients. The C-ELISA method for measuring serum hepcidin should facilitate the routine measurement of hepcidin in clinical practice.

A randomised clinical trial of high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation for the treatment of patients with localised breast cancer.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a noninvasive treatment that induces complete coagulative necrosis of a tumour at depth through the intact skin. This study was to explore the possibility of using HIFU for the treatment of patients with localised breast cancer in a controlled clinical trial. A total of 48 women with biopsy-proven breast cancer (T(1-2), N(0-2), M0) were randomised to the control group in which modified radical mastectomy was performed, and the HIFU group in which an extracorporeal HIFU ablation of breast cancer was followed by modified radical mastectomy. Short-term follow-up, pathologic and immunohistochemical stains were performed to assess the therapeutic effects on tumour and complications of HIFU. The results showed that no severe side effect was observed in the HIFU-treated patients. Pathologic findings revealed that HIFU-treated tumour cells underwent complete coagulative necrosis, and tumour vascular vessels were severely damaged. Immunohistochemical staining showed that no expression of PCNA, MMP-9, and CD44v6 was detected within the treated tumour cells in the HIFU group, indicating that the treated tumour cells lost the abilities of proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. It is concluded that, as a noninvasive therapy, HIFU could be effective, safe, and feasible in the extracorporeal treatment of localised breast cancer.

[The medium conditioned incubation with rat heart cells maintains the properties of ES cells].

17 kinds of conditioned media were selected by plating tests, propagation and other tests with two cell lines, C-19-2 and MESPU-13. The results suggested that the rat heart cells conditioned media (RH-CM) can inhibit the spontaneous differentiation effectively, maintain the normal diploid karyotypes and promote adherence and proliferation of mouse ES cells. The ES cells were propagated in RH-CM to the 20th passage remaining their pluripotent in vivo and in vitro differentiation ability. RH-CM can be used as supplement of ES cell media. ES cells which are cultured in media containing 70% RH-CM and on PMEF feeder can maintain their undifferentiation state and diploid karyotype. RT-PCR detection suggested that there was mLIF expression in rat heart cells.

Pathological changes in human malignant carcinoma treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pathologic changes of extracorporeal ablation of human malignant tumors with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). HIFU treatment was performed in the 164 patients with liver cancer, breast cancer, malignant bone tumor, soft tissue sarcoma and other malignant tumors at focal peak intensities from 5000 W x cm(-2) to 20,000 W x cm(-2), with operating frequencies of 0.8 to 3.2 MHz. To explore the pathologic impact of extracorporeal HIFU, 30 patients with malignant carcinoma underwent surgical removal after HIFU treatment. Pathologic findings showed that the treated tissues demonstrated homogeneous coagulative necrosis with an irreversible tumor cell death and severe damage to tumor blood vessels at the level of microsvasculature within the HIFU-targeted region. Thermolesions to intervening tissue were never observed. The treated region had a sharp border comprising only several cell layers between the treated and untreated areas. The repair of lesions had the processes of necrotic tissue absorption and granulation tissue replacement. It is concluded that extracorporeal treatment of human solid malignancies with HIFU could be safe, effective and feasible. As a noninvasive therapy, HIFU would be used clinically to treat patients with solid malignancies.

Poor immune reconstitution after four or five major HLA antigens mismatched T cell-depleted allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation.

Two adults with primary liver cancer underwent liver transplantation from 5/6 and 4/6 major HLA-antigen mismatched unrelated donors. They were then conditioned with 4 x 2 Gy of total lymphoid irradiation, 120 mg/kg cyclophosphamide, 7.5 Gy total body irradiation and anti-T cell antibodies. Thereafter, the patients received T cell-depleted autologous: unrelated mismatched bone marrow in a proportion of 0.5:3.0 and 0.35:1.1 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg, respectively. After allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT), both became mixed chimeras, as determined with polymerase chain reaction amplification of variable number tandem repeats from DNA obtained from CD3+, CD19+ and CD45+ magnetic bead-separated cells. Due to a reduction in donor T cells, the first patient was given 10(5) donor T cells/kg and became a complete donor chimera within 3 months. The second patient rejected all donor cells within 1 month after ASCT. Leucocytes normalized in both patients within 1 month. CD8+ cells normalized after 4 and 2 months in the two patients, respectively. However, CD4+, CD56+ and CD19+ cells remained low, except for a transient increase in patient 2. Lymphocyte responses to mitogens were negative in patient 1 from 1 to 5 months after ASCT. This patient also showed an oligoclonal pattern of the B cell repertoire, performed by CDR3 spectratyping. Epstein-Barr virus DNA in lymphocytes increased by 4-5 log in both patients. Prior to ASCT, recipients and donors were mutually reactive in mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC). In the first patient, who became a complete donor chimera, the chimera cells showed no response to recipient or donor, but a positive response to third party. In the other patient, recipient cells reacted vigorously against donor lymphocytes at the time of rejection. Both patients suffered from overwhelming bacterial, fungal and viral infections, and died of pneumonia 5 and 3 months after ASCT, respectively. To conclude, with a major HLA-mismatch barrier, stable mixed chimerism seems difficult to achieve. The first patient became a full donor chimera and the second one rejected the graft. Both suffered from immune incompetence.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load in bone marrow transplant recipients at risk to develop posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease: prophylactic infusion of EBV-specific cytotoxic T cells.

A semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction assay was used to monitor the blood levels of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-DNA in 9 patients receiving allogeneic bone marrow transplants (BMT). Four of 5 recipients of HLA-mismatched T-cell-depleted grafts showed a 4- to 5-log increase of EBV-DNA within 1 to 3 months after BMT. Administration of 2 to 4 infusions of 10(7) EBV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs)/m(2) starting from the time of maximal virus load resulted in a 2- to 3-log decrease of virus titers in 3 patients. One patient, who received a T-cell culture lacking a major EBV-specific component, progressed to fatal EBV-positive lymphoma. Administration of EBV-CTLs before the onset of the EBV-DNA peak resulted in stabilization of the virus titers within 2 to 3 logs above the normal levels in the fifth patient. A moderate increase of virus titers was also detected in 3 of 4 patients receiving unmanipulated HLA-matched grafts, whereas 1 patient with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome reached a 5-log increase of EBV-DNA load within 70 days after BMT. Our results suggest that a rapid increase of circulating EBV-DNA occurs in the absence of EBV-specific T-cell precursors or in the presence of congenital immune defects that prevent the reestablishment of virus-specific immunity. Prophylactic administration of EBV-CTLs early after BMT appears to provide the most effective protection against the development of EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disease.

Epstein-Barr virus genomes are found predominantly in IgA-positive B cells in the blood of healthy carriers.

B lymphocytes have been identified as the main reservoir of latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in healthy virus carriers. We have established a semi-quantitative PCR method to estimate the EBV genome load in the blood B-cell subpopulation in healthy individuals. EBV DNA was detected in subfractionated IgM-, IgG- and IgA-positive B cells. Between 80% and 90% of the viral DNA was found in the IgA-positive compared with the IgA-negative fraction.

Direct identification by PCR of EBV types and variants in clinical samples.

Both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) type A and type B, and variants of type A, were identified simultaneously by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a DNA region coding for a 13 amino acid repeat in the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen (EBNA) 6. Whereas this region varies extensively in type A isolates, no variation was seen in type B isolates. When a repetitive region in the LMP1-coding region was amplified by PCR, it was possible to distinguish individual variants of type B isolates from each other. Forty-two saliva samples from HIV-1-carrying individuals were examined for the presence of type A and type B virus. Both types and multiple variants of each type were found with a much higher frequency than in the saliva samples from healthy individuals. Type A EBV alone was detected in mouthwash samples from 6 infectious mononucleosis (IM) patients. Both type A and B were detected in the peripheral blood B-lymphocytes (PBL) from 1 healthy individual. The same type A variant was demonstrated both in PBL and in the mouthwash sample from another healthy individual. In this study it was shown that a combination of the EBNA 6- and LMP 1-specific PCRs followed by Southern hybridisation can be used to identify both type A and type B virus, as well as to distinguish between multiple variants of the same strain, in saliva and B-cells from both healthy and immunosuppressed individuals.

Targeted damage effects of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) on liver tissues of Guizhou Province miniswine.

HIFU can pass through tissues and accurately damage target tissues inside organisms. This article reports on the oriented damage effects of HIFU upon miniswine internal and external liver tissues, and suggests a new conception of the 'biological focal field'. The results revealed that: (1) HIFU can be used to damage accurately liver tissues under the guide of a B-modal ultrasound device; (2) the scope of the injury is connected with sound intensity and irradiation time; and (3) the different layers of tissue through which the ultrasound has passed remain undamaged.

Epstein Barr virus (EBV)-carrying cells of a chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) subpopulation express EBNA1 and LMPs but not EBNA2 in vivo.

We have previously described an exceptional CLL patient, P.G., whose leukemic cell population contained a small fraction of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-carrying cells. These cells grow directly into permanent cell lines in vitro. Using RT-PCR analysis, we now show that the in vivo EBV-carrying CLL cells expressed EBNAI, LMPI, LMP2a and 2b, but not EBNA2, in 4 of 4 blood samples obtained during the last 3 years of the patient's life. Our data also show that the CLL cells used a promoter in the F/Q, but not the W or C, region. This is consistent with the fact that CLL cells resemble resting lymphocytes rather than immunoblasts. Expression of LMP1 and LMP2b differs from the exclusive EBNAI and LMP2a expression of normal resting B cells, however, and corresponds to the state defined as latency II. This form of latency was until now detected only in EBV-carrying non-B cells in vivo. Our data show that a B-cell subtype can also show this expression pattern in vivo.

A subpopulation of normal B cells latently infected with Epstein-Barr virus resembles Burkitt lymphoma cells in expressing EBNA-1 but not EBNA-2 or LMP1.

Using reverse transcription of whole cellular RNA and nested PCR, we have performed experiments mixing different proportions of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-carrying and EBV-negative cells. Based on the results, a method that detects viral transcripts for EBNA-1, EBNA-2, LMP1, and LMP2a from less than one positive cell among 10(5) negative cells was developed. With this method we have shown that the EBV DNA positive cells among small, high-density peripheral blood B-lymphocytes of normal healthy persons express EBNA-1-mRNA but not EBNA-2 or LMP1. A similar EBV expression pattern is found in type I Burkitt lymphoma cells. We suggest that the expression pattern in the lymphoma cells reflects the viral strategy in normal resting B cells and meets the requirements of latent persistence.

The role of repetitive DNA sequences in the size variation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigens, and the identification of different EBV isolates using RFLP and PCR analysis.

The six Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen proteins (EBNA-1-6) show characteristic size variations between different virus isolates; this is a feature that has been used to identify the source of virus isolates in epidemiological studies (Ebnotyping). We have now studied the correlation between restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) within exons coding for the EBNAs and the molecular masses of the respective proteins. The B95-8 EBV strain was used as the prototype virus. The variation in apparent molecular mass of EBNA-1, -3 and -6 correlated positively with the size of RFLP coding for repeat sequences in these polypeptides. For EBNA-2, no correlation between apparent molecular mass and length of the repetitive sequences was found. The EBNA-4 protein showed virtually no variation in apparent molecular mass and RFLP size across the repeat sequence. Based on the strong correlation between apparent molecular mass and RFLP size for EBNA-6, we developed an EBNA-6 PCR assay that discriminated between different isolates of EBV. This assay offers the advantage of EBV characterization using uncultured material (e.g. throat washings, blood or biopsies), thus avoiding the selection against poorly transforming strains that occurs during establishment of lymphoblastoid cell lines required for Ebnotyping at the protein level.

Characterization of Epstein-Barr viral strains in parotid gland saliva and peripheral blood of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and healthy EBV carriers.

Increased Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replication has been reported in the salivary and lacrimal glands in Sjögren's syndrome (SS). We studied whether or not certain EBV strains would occur preferentially in the peripheral blood and parotid gland saliva of 18 EBV-seropositive patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and 12 EBV-seropositive control persons. Transforming EBV was detected in the blood of 11 of 18 (61%) pSS patients and 9 of 12 controls (75%). Unexpectedly, neither transforming nor Raji-superinfecting EBV strains were detected in SS parotid saliva, whereas these EBV types were detected in control saliva in 7 and 8 cases, respectively (P < 0.001). Transforming EBV strains were further characterized by 'Ebno-typing,' i.e., analysis of the size spectrum of the viral antigens EBNA 1, 2, 3, and 6 in immunoblots of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL). Previous work has shown that a single EBV strain (Ebnotype) dominates the blood and oropharynx of healthy carriers and that unrelated individuals carry different EBV strains, reflecting the vast polymorphism of Ebnotypes in the general population. Two unexpected observations were made. First, an identical Ebnotype was detected in 4 unrelated individuals, i.e., in the blood of 1 pSS patient and in the saliva of 3 control persons. Second, carriage of 2 to 4 different Ebnotypes by a single individual was observed in 4 cases, i.e., in the blood of 1 pSS patient, and in the blood and saliva of 3 control persons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)