In this paper, we obtain several characterizations of varieties of Fano type and projective spaces via absolute complexity. Also, we show that if the absolute complexity of a given pair
(
X
,
Δ
)
is ...negative, then the pair
(
X
,
Δ
)
does not admit any
-
(
K
X
+
Δ
)
-minimal models.
Background & Aims
Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Ate/Bev) has demonstrated efficacy and safety in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the phase III trial. Further evaluation is ...necessary to investigate the safety and efficacy of Ate/Bev in real settings.
Methods
This was a multicentre retrospective analysis. Between May 2020 and February 2021, 138 patients received Ate/Bev as first‐line treatment for advanced HCC from 11 institutions. We excluded patients with Child‐Pugh B or C and BCLC D stage, and the remaining 121 patients were included in this analysis.
Results
According to RECIST 1.1, the objective response and disease control rates were 24.0% and 76.0%. The median follow‐up duration was 5.9 months (95% confidence interval CI, 5.4‐6.4), the median progression‐free survival (PFS) was 6.5 months (95% CI, 4.1‐9.0), and median overall survival (OS) was not reached (95% CI, not available). The most frequent grade 3‐4 adverse event was aspartate aminotransferase elevation (10.7%). In the multivariate analyses, AFP increase (P = .037), baseline neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥ 5 (P = .023), and best response to stable disease or progressive disease (P = .019) were significantly associated with worse PFS. Macrovascular invasion (P = .048) and baseline NLR ≥5 (P < .001) were significantly associated with worse OS.
Conclusions
Ate/Bev showed real‐life efficacy and safety in Korean patients with advanced HCC, in line with results from phase III trial. Considering unfavourable survival outcomes of Ate/Bev in patients with elevated NLR, careful assessment of treatment response needs to be performed in this group.
This paper describes a modified method to prepare monodisperse Fe
3
O
4
magnetic nanoparticles with different shapes (cube, octahedron, and sphere). The shape of the magnetic nanoparticles could be ...conveniently controlled by changing the types of precursor/capping agent and concentration of capping agent. The prepared samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry. Cubes and octahedra were formed using ferrous sulfate heptahydrate as an iron source, ethylene glycol as a solvent and potassium hydroxide (KOH) as a capping agent while spheres were formed by using ferric chloride hexahydrate as an iron source, ethylene glycol as a solvent and ammonium acetate as a capping agent. By varying KOH concentration (0.5 M, 1 M, 1.5 M, and 5 M), the shape was transformed from cubes to octahedra because octahedra are developed dominantly at higher concentration of KOH within the reaction mixture. The magnetic studies show superparamagnetic behavior for all samples at room temperature. The Fe
3
O
4
nanoparticles show the magnetic saturation values of 87 emu g
−1
, 85 emu g
−1
, and 82 emu g
−1
for spheres, cubes, and octahedrons, respectively.
This paper describes a modified method to prepare monodisperse Fe
3
O
4
magnetic nanoparticles with different shapes (cube, octahedron, and sphere).
Background
There is a close link between
Fusobacterium nucleatum
and colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. However, the genetic characteristics and clinical significance of CRC ...related with
F. nucleatum
remains unclear. This study evaluated the relationship between
F. nucleatum
, pathway mutation, and patient prognosis.
Methods
Fusobacterium nucleatum
amount in the tumor tissue and adjacent normal tissue were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in adjuvant (
N
= 128) and metastatic (
N
= 118) cohorts. Patients were divided into binary (
F. nucleatum
-high and
F. nucleatum
-low) according to
F. nucleatum
amount. Targeted next-generation sequencing of 40 genes included in the 5 critical pathways (WNT, P53, RTK-RAS, PI3 K, and TGF-β) was performed in the adjuvant cohort.
Results
Patients with MSI-H and CIMP-H had higher amount of
F. nucleatum
in tumor tissue.
Fusobacterium nucleatum
-high patients had higher rates of transition mutation and C to T (G to A) nucleotide change regardless of MSI status. In addition, mutation rate of
AMER1
and
ATM
genes, and TGF-β pathway was higher in
F. nucleatum
-high patients.
Fusobacterium nucleatum
-high was associated with poor overall survival (OS) in the palliative cohort (26.4 vs. 30.7 months,
p
= 0.042). Multivariate analysis revealed
F. nucleatum
-high as an independent negative prognostic factor for OS adjusted hazard ratio of 1.69 (95% confidence interval 1.04–2.75),
p
= 0.034. However,
F. nucleatum
amount was not associated with recurrence in the adjuvant cohort.
Conclusions
F. nucleatum
-high was associated with poor survival in metastatic CRC. In addition, we identified mutational characteristics of colorectal cancer according to
F. nucleatum
amount.
The role of HER2 amplification level in predicting the effectiveness of HER2-directed therapies has been established. However, its association with survival outcomes in advanced HER2-positive breast ...cancer treated with dual HER2-blockade remains unexplored.
This is a single-center retrospective study of patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer treated with first-line pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel. The primary objective was to ascertain the relationship between treatment outcomes and the level of HER2 amplification by in situ hybridization (ISH).
A total of 152 patients were included with a median follow-up duration of 50.0 months. Among the 78 patients who received ISH, a higher HER2/CEP17 ratio correlated significantly with longer PFS (HR 0.50, p = 0.022) and OS (HR 0.28, p = 0.014) when dichotomized by the median. A higher HER2 copy number also correlated significantly with better PFS (HR 0.35, p < 0.001) and OS (HR 0.27, p = 0.009). In multivariate analysis, the HER2/CEP17 ratio was an independent predictive factor for PFS (HR 0.66, p = 0.004) and potentially for OS (HR 0.64, p = 0.054), along with HER2 copy number (PFS HR 0.85, p = 0.004; OS HR 0.84, p = 0.049). Furthermore, the correlation between HER2 amplification level by ISH with PFS and OS was consistent across the HER2 IHC 1+/2+ and 3+ categories.
This is the first study to report that a higher level of HER2 amplification by ISH is associated with improved PFS and OS in advanced HER2-positive breast cancer treated with dual HER2-blockade. Notably, HER2 amplification level had a predictive role regardless of IHC results. Even in patients with HER2 protein expression of 3+, treatment outcome to HER2-directed therapy was dependent on the level of HER2 gene amplification.
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► Development of Cr-free Fe-based HTS catalyst is highly demanded recently. ► The combined use of structural and textural promoters is a key in the development. ► Increase of basicity ...promotes the formate mechanism and increases HTS activity. ► The use of reducible oxide is beneficial in improving the intrinsic WGS rate. ► The fixation of Fe in a solid matrix is effective in stabilizing the Fe species.
Since it was patented by Bosch and Wild at 1914, the Fe/Cr-based mixed oxide catalyst has been used for water-gas shift reactions (WGSRs). Until the present, this catalyst has been used as the primary catalyst for industrial high-temperature shift (HTS) reactions. However, because environmental concerns about chromium elements were raised in the early 1980s, the replacement of chromium in HTS catalysts has been intensely studied by many groups. These studies have contributed notable insights into HTS catalysis using Fe-based oxides, especially about the reaction mechanism and functions of promoter elements. In some cases, the potential of using a substituent metal previously neglected because of properties inferior to those of chromium was rediscovered after noteworthy improvements were produced by combining it with other metals in promoting the Fe-oxide catalyst. This paper reviews the recent studies of Cr-free Fe-based HTS catalysts, especially focusing on the roles and functions of the non-chromium promoters in the catalysts.
•{100} facet enclosed nanocubes (9nm) were used as seeds for octahedron synthesis.•Pd octahedrons were enclosed by {111} facet and had 23nm in edge length.•Pd {111} facet showed better activity than ...Pd {100} facet for the H2O2 synthesis.
In this study, single-crystal Pd nanocubes and nanooctahedrons were prepared by the colloidal method and their catalytic activities were compared in direct hydrogen peroxide synthesis. Using sodium tetrachloropalladate (II) as the Pd precursor, l-ascorbic acid (or formaldehyde) as the reducing agent, potassium bromide as the capping agent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone as the stabilizer, Pd nanocubes were obtained in a uniform size (9nm). Pd octahedrons (23nm in edge length) were synthesized via seed-mediated growth of the Pd nanocube, where the morphology of the cube was altered to that of a cuboctahedron, truncated octahedron, and octahedron, in series. The cubes and octahedrons were enclosed by {100} and {111} facets, respectively. In activity tests, the Pd octahedron presented higher hydrogen peroxide selectivity and productivity than the Pd cube. It is therefore suggested that the Pd {111} facet is more active than the Pd {100} facet in direct hydrogen peroxide synthesis.
Many studies have been conducted on core–shell structured nanocatalysts thanks to their high thermal and physical stability. However, for a typical core–shell structure, shell thickness and pore size ...that affect mass transfer through the shell are difficult to control. Herein, we synthesized a different type of core–shell catalyst, in which a mesoporous silica shell encapsulates the Pd-nanocrystals-grafted-SiO2 nanobeads. With the preparation method introduced, we successfully controlled the thickness of the shell layer and generated a mesoporous texture over the shell layer. In activity tests, the production rate of hydrogen peroxide significantly increased when using the mesoporous shell catalyst over the microporous shell catalyst of similar shell thickness. The thickening of the mesoporous shell layer reduced the production rate of hydrogen peroxide. Thus, the thinner the thickness of a mesoporous shell, the more favorable in terms of pore-diffusion rate. However, the shell thickness should be adequately adjusted, because an extremely thin shell layer cannot protect the core Pd crystals from thermal agglomeration in a calcination and reduction process.
Let-7 miRNAs have pleiotropic cellular functions in cell proliferation, migration, and regenerative processes. Here, we investigate whether the inhibition of let-7 miRNAs with antisense ...oligonucleotides (ASOs) can be a transient and safe strategy enhancing the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to overcome their limitations in cell therapeutic trials. We first identified major subfamilies of let-7 miRNAs preferentially expressed in MSCs, and efficient ASO combinations against these selected subfamilies that mimic the effects of LIN28 activation. When let-7 miRNAs were inhibited with an ASO combination (anti-let7-ASOs), MSCs exhibited higher proliferation with delayed senescence during the passaging into a culture. They also exhibited increased migration and enhanced osteogenic differentiation potential. However, these changes in MSCs were not accompanied by cell-fate changes into pericytes or the additional acquisition of stemness, but instead occurred as functional changes accompanied by changes in proteomics. Interestingly, MSCs with let-7 inhibition exhibited metabolic reprogramming characterized by an enhanced glycolytic pathway, decreased reactive oxygen species, and lower transmembrane potential in mitochondria. Moreover, let-7-inhibited MSCs promoted the self-renewal of neighboring hematopoietic progenitor cells, and enhanced capillary formation in endothelial cells. These findings together show that our optimized ASO combination efficiently reprograms the MSC functional state, allowing for more efficient MSC cell therapy.
Considering the high morbidity and mortality of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with malignancy, they are regarded as a priority for COVID-19 vaccination. However, general vaccine ...uptake rates among cancer patients are known to be lower than in their healthy counterparts. Thus, we aimed to investigate the attitude and acceptance rates for the COVID-19 vaccine in cancer patients and identify predictive factors for vaccination that could be modified to increase vaccine uptake rates, via a paper-based survey (58 items over six domains). A total of 1001 cancer patients participated in this nationwide, multicenter survey between February and April 2021. We observed that 61.8% of respondents were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Positive predictive factors found to be independently associated with vaccination were male gender, older age, obesity, previous influenza vaccination history, absence of cancer recurrence, time since cancer diagnosis over 5 years, and higher EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale scores. Along with the well-known factors that are positively correlated with vaccination, here, we report that patients’ disease status and current health status were also associated with their acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, 91.2% of cancer patients were willing to be vaccinated if their attending physicians recommend it, indicating that almost 30% could change their decision upon physicians’ recommendation. Unlike other factors, which are unmodifiable, physicians’ recommendation is the single modifiable factor that could change patients’ behavior. In conclusion, we firstly report that Korean cancer patients’ acceptance rate of the COVID-19 vaccination was 61.8% and associated with disease status and current health status. Physicians should play a major role in aiding cancer patients’ decision-making concerning COVID-19 vaccines.
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