Accurate identification of axillary lymph node (ALN) involvement in patients with early-stage breast cancer is important for determining appropriate axillary treatment options and therefore avoiding ...unnecessary axillary surgery and complications. Here, we report deep learning radiomics (DLR) of conventional ultrasound and shear wave elastography of breast cancer for predicting ALN status preoperatively in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Clinical parameter combined DLR yields the best diagnostic performance in predicting ALN status between disease-free axilla and any axillary metastasis with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.902 (95% confidence interval CI: 0.843, 0.961) in the test cohort. This clinical parameter combined DLR can also discriminate between low and heavy metastatic burden of axillary disease with AUC of 0.905 (95% CI: 0.814, 0.996) in the test cohort. Our study offers a noninvasive imaging biomarker to predict the metastatic extent of ALN for patients with early-stage breast cancer.
In a drug delivery system, the physicochemical properties of the polymeric matrix have a positive impact on the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. In this work, monolithic F1 fibers and ...coaxial F2 fibers were successfully prepared using polyvinylpyrrolidone as the main polymer matrix for drug loading and the poorly water-soluble curcumin (Cur) as a model drug. The hydrophobic poly (3-hydroxybutyric acid-co-3-hydroxyvaleric acid) (PHBV) was designed as a blank layer to change the hydrophilicity of the fiber and restrain the drug dissolution rate. The curved linear morphology without beads of F1 fibers and the straight linear morphology with few spindles of F2 fibers were characterized using field-emission environmental scanning electron microscopy. The amorphous forms of the drug and its good compatibility with polymeric matrix were verified by X-ray diffraction and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Surface wettability and drug dissolution data showed that the weaker hydrophilicity F2 fibers (31.42° ± 3.07°) had 24 h for Cur dissolution, which was much longer than the better hydrophilic F1 fibers (15.31° ± 2.79°) that dissolved the drug in 4 h.
The implementation of multi-crack recognition requires a theoretical basis from single-crack failure results. This study investigates the spatial distribution pattern of microcracks in ...single-crack-damaged coal specimens subjected to uniaxial compression. The distribution mechanism of the induced microcracks is analysed in terms of macrocracks and stress states. Gaussian and Weibull distributions are selected to explore the spatial distribution of microcracks, and quantile–quantile plots are used to study the probability density plots. The results show that the updated data better demonstrate the distribution characteristics of the ellipsoid shape visually, and the microcracks are observed to converge near the envelope. Linear distribution features are found in the scattered points of the quantile–quantile plots. The goodness-of-fit tests indicate that both Gaussian and Weibull distributions can be assigned to describe the microcrack distribution on the new axis. The probability density distribution results show that the shape is preferred to obey Gaussian distribution, whereas Weibull distribution exhibits a greater possibility of shape variation. The study results can enhance the existing knowledge on crack spatial distribution of acoustic emission positioning results associated with rock materials. In addition, the statistical results can interpret the cracks by recognising them with a specified distribution pattern.
Complex multi-chamber nanostructures are difficult to prepare in a facile and straightforward manner although they are very useful for designing novel functional nanomaterials. In this study, based ...on the application of electrospun monolithic composites, a new tri-chamber composite nano structure was fabricated using a special trifluid electrospinning. The composite structure had a common shell and two separate cores, and thus was termed as a sheath-separate-core structure. A homemade structural spinneret was developed to assemble an electrospinning system for fabrication. All the three core/sheath sections of the sheath-separate-core structure were monolithic composites consisting of pH-sensitive polymers (i.e. Eudragit® series) and an active ingredient (paracetamol). The sheath-separate-core composite nano structure was able to combine the performances of the three electrospun monolithic nanocomposites to provide a smart controlled release profile according to the physiological characteristics of the digestive tract. The reported protocol opens a new way for designing and producing novel functional nanomaterials based on a complex nanostructure and the related process-structure-performance relationship.
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•A complex nanostructure consists of a sheath and two separate cores.•A multifluid electrospinning is implemented to fabricate the complex structure.•A structural spinneret is developed for guiding and organizing the three fluids.•The sheath-separate-core structures can provide a smart drug controlled release.
Despite GC variation constitutes a fundamental element of genome and species diversity, the precise mechanisms driving it remain unclear. The abundant sequence data available for the ITS2, a commonly ...employed phylogenetic marker in plants, offers an exceptional resource for exploring the GC variation across angiosperms. A comprehensive selection of 8666 species, comprising 165 genera, 63 families, and 30 orders were used for the analyses. The alignment of ITS2 sequence-structures and partitioning of secondary structures into paired and unpaired regions were performed using 4SALE. Substitution rates and frequencies among GC base-pairs in the paired regions of ITS2 were calculated using RNA-specific models in the PHASE package. The results showed that the distribution of ITS2 GC contents on the angiosperm phylogeny was heterogeneous, but their increase was generally associated with ITS2 sequence homogenization, thereby supporting the occurrence of GC-biased gene conversion (gBGC) during the concerted evolution of ITS2. Additionally, the GC content in the paired regions of the ITS2 secondary structure was significantly higher than that of the unpaired regions, indicating the selection of GC for thermodynamic stability. Furthermore, the RNA substitution models demonstrated that base-pair transformations favored both the elevation and fixation of GC in the paired regions, providing further support for gBGC. Our findings highlight the significance of secondary structure in GC investigation, which demonstrate that both gBGC and structure-based selection are influential factors driving angiosperm ITS2 GC content.
Abstract
In this study, a palladium/graphene modified stainless steel electrode was successfully prepared and applied in an electrochemical reduction device to remove Cr (VI) from the wastewater. Pd ...was modified onto the electrode mainly via interacting with the carboxyl group of graphene. The Cr (VI) removal efficiency was up to 99.70 ± 0.00% under the optimal condition (Pd content proportion of 3%, electrode potential of −0.9 V, pH = 2 and electrolyte concentration of 6 g/L). It was found that Cr (VI) was removed via the following processes: (1) direct electrochemical reduction by accepting electrons, (2) indirect electrochemical reduction by H2O2 that was generated from H2 in the presence of Pd, (3) adsorption through hydrogen bond, and (4) chemical reduction through alkoxy groups donating electrons. The indirect electrochemical reduction considerably promoted the Cr (VI) removal while a small amount of Cr (VI) was removed via adsorption and chemical reduction. The method could not only be used as a pretreatment technology to solve the problem of excessive Cr (VI) concentration of industrial wastewater, but also could provide reference for the electrochemical reduction of similar metal ions.
An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that circular RNAs (circRNAs), as promising therapeutic targets, are essential for diverse human diseases, especially cancer. However, the potential ...functions and complex mechanisms of most circRNAs in osteosarcoma (OS) are still not fully elucidated. In the present study, we obtained the expression profile of circRNAs from a GEO database (GSE96964) and identified hsa_circ_0000073 as a highly expressed candidate in OS. Overexpression of hsa_circ_0000073 accelerated the proliferation, migration, invasion and MTX resistance of OS cells, and knockdown of hsa_circ_0000073 resulted in the opposite effects. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0000073 upregulated NRAS expression by targeting miR-145-5p and miR-151-3p in OS cells. In addition, the promotion of OS progression by hsa_circ_000007 was blocked by miR-145-5p and miR-151-3p-mediated NRAS inhibition. In conclusion, hsa_circ_0000073 facilitated the proliferation, migration, invasion and MTX resistance of OS cells through the inhibition of miR-145-5p and miR-151-3p-mediated downregulation of NRAS.
A special extractant, 4-tert-butyl-2-(α-methylbenzyl) phenol (t-BAMBP), was applied in cesium separation and purification from high concentration of rubidium chloride leach liquor. Effects of various ...parameters, such as feed liquid alkalinity, reagent concentration, contact time, and phase ratio, on extraction, scrubbing and stripping were systematic studied. The results demonstrated that the extraction rate of cesium reached 99.18% after five-stage countercurrent extraction, with the optimal extraction conditions that a feed liquid initial alkalinity of 10 g/L, t-BAMBP concentration of 1 mol/L, contact time of 1 min, and phase ratio (O/A) of 1:4. In addition, the loaded organic phase coextracted impurity elements (15.78% Rb, 0.5% K) was scrubbed with 0.1 mol/L HCl. After four-stage countercurrent scrubbing, the scrubbing rates of rubidium and potassium were 99.83% and 100% respectively, as well as 5.73% of cesium was lost. Almost all cesium (99%) was stripped with 0.05 mol/L HCl by two-stage countercurrent stripping after the organic phase was scrubbed. The slope method calculated the composition of the extraction complex as CsOR ∙ 2ROH(o), and the cation exchange reaction was proven to be the extraction mechanism.
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•Extraction of Cs from lepidolite leach liquor with high concentration RbCl.•The extraction rate of Cs was 99.18% after five-stage countercurrent extraction.•High scrubbing rates of impurity elements were obtained under 0.1 mol/L HCl.•The cation exchange reaction was proven to be the extraction mechanism.
Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. This study sought to investigate the association between the preoperative c-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CRP/Alb) and ...oncological outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.
Two hundred patients with histologically verified ovarian cancer between June 2006 and July 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Overall survival was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The significance of risk factors for overall survival was evaluated with the Cox proportional hazards model. Additionally, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to compare the predictive ability of CRP/Alb, Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), modified GPS (mGPS), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), prognostic index (PI) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI).
The optimal cutoff value of CRP/Alb was 0.68. Increased CRP/Alb (≥0.68) was associated with advanced stage, residual tumor, ascites, elevated serum carbohydrate antigen(CA)-125 level, GPS, and mGPS (all p < 0.05). Patients with high CRP/Alb had poor overall survival compared to those with low CRP/Alb (p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that CRP/Alb (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.330, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.131-1.564, p = 0.001), tumor stage (HR 1.577, 95% CI 1.189-2.091, p = 0.002), residual tumor (HR 2.337, 95% CI 1.518-3.597, p < 0.001) and age (HR 1.017, 95% CI 1.000-1.035, p = 0.046) were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Additionally, the CRP/Alb showed greater AUC values at 1 year (0.692), 3 years (0.659), and 5 years (0.682) than GPS, mGPS and PNI.
The CRP/Alb is a novel independent marker of poor prognosis among ovarian cancer patients and shows superior prognostic ability compared to the established inflammation-based prognostic indices.
DNA barcoding is used to identify cryptic species, survey environmental samples, and estimate phyletic and genetic diversity. Armored scale insects are phytophagous insects and are the most ...species-rich taxa in the Coccoidea superfamily. This study developed a DNA barcode library for armored scale insect species collected from southern China during 2021-2022. We sequenced a total of 239 specimens, recognized as 50 morphological species, representing two subfamilies and 21 genera. Sequencing analysis revealed that the average G + C content of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence was very low (~18.06%) and that the average interspecific divergence was 10.07% while intraspecific divergence was 3.20%. The intraspecific divergence value was inflated by the high intraspecific divergence in ten taxa, which may indicate novel species overlooked by current taxonomic treatments. All the Automated Barcode Gap Discovery, Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning, Taxon DNA analysis and Bayesian Poisson Tree Process methods yielded largely consistent results, indicating a robust and credible species delimitation. Based on these results, an intergeneric distance threshold of ≤ 5% was deemed appropriate for the differentiation of armored scale insect species in China. This study establishes a comprehensive barcode library for the identification of armored scale insects, future research, and application.
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