We have developed an individualized melanoma vaccine based on transfection of autologous dendritic cells (DCs) with autologous tumor-mRNA. Dendritic cells loaded with complete tumor-mRNA may generate ...an immune response against a broad repertoire of antigens, including unique patient-specific antigens. The purpose of the present phase I/II trial was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the vaccine, and the ability of the DCs to elicit T-cell responses in melanoma patients. Further, we compared intradermal (i.d.) and intranodal (i.n.) vaccine administration. Twenty-two patients with advanced malignant melanoma were included, each receiving four weekly vaccines. Monocyte-derived DCs were transfected with tumor-mRNA by electroporation, matured and cryopreserved. We obtained successful vaccine production for all patients elected. No serious adverse effects were observed. A vaccine-specific immune response was demonstrated in 9/19 patients evaluable by T-cell assays (T-cell proliferation/interferon-gamma ELISPOT) and in 8/18 patients evaluable by delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction. The response was demonstrated in 7/10 patients vaccinated intradermally and in 3/12 patients vaccinated intranodally. We conclude that immuno-gene-therapy with the described DC-vaccine is feasible and safe, and that the vaccine can elicit in vivo T-cell responses against antigens encoded by the transfected tumor-mRNA. The response rates do not suggest an advantage in applying i.n. vaccination.
The carbon dioxide corrosion behaviour of HP13Cr110 stainless steel in simulated stratum water is studied by potentiodynamic curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS); the ...micro-structure and composition of the corrosion scale formed at high-temperature and high-pressure are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that 13Cr stainless steel is in passive state in the stratum water, the passive current density increases and the passive potential region decreases with increasing temperature. The corrosion scale formed at high-temperature and high-pressure is mainly composed of iron/chromium oxides and a little amount of FeCO
3.
Purpose. To study the relationship between surface membrane-bound APRIL and ITP. Methods. The peripheral blood of all subjects, 50 patients diagnosed with ITP and 25 healthy controls, was collected. ...Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of membrane-bound APRIL on immune cells and platelets. ELISA was used to detect the content of soluble APRIL in plasma. Results. Membrane-bound APRIL was only expressed on the surface of platelets in both ITP patients and controls. APRIL expression on the platelet surface was significantly lower in newly diagnosed (P<0.001) and chronic (P<0.001) ITP patients than in controls. Platelet surface APRIL level was significantly enhanced in patients with complete remission after treatment (P=0.02) but not in those with no response after treatment. Platelet surface APRIL level in ITP patients was negatively correlated with serum APRIL level (r=−0.09765, P=0.0424). Conclusions. Platelet surface APRIL may play a key immunoregulative role. Platelet surface APRIL is likely to be one source of the excessive serum APRIL in ITP patients. The effectiveness of treatment may be measured by determining the platelet surface APRIL levels in ITP patients.
Component based software development (CBSD) is well acknowledged as a methodology which establishes reusability of software and reduce development cost effectively. While developing enterprise ...application using component based software engineering (CBSE) methods, software component selection plays a very important role in the process of component retrieval, adaptation and assembly. However, most of current researches focus on technical aspects from domain engineering and application engineering to improve reusability and system efficiency rather than application of optimization methods in CBSD management, especially application in component selection. Moreover, few existing researches have concerned about the situation where a software developer or enterprise develops multi-applications at the same time. By introducing the concept of reusability and a new formulation of compatibility matrix, an optimization model is proposed to solve component selection problem considering reusability and compatibility simultaneously. The model can be used to assist software developers in selecting software components when multi-applications are undertaken concurrently. Four experiments are conducted with the purpose to provide some insights in management perspective.
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Hypothesis: Horseshoe vortices are known to emerge around large-scale obstacles, such as bridge pillars, due to an inertia-driven adverse pressure gradient forming on the ...upstream-side of the obstacle. We contend that a similar flow structure can arise in thin-film Stokes flow around micro-obstacles, such as used in textured surfaces to improve wettability. This could be exploited to enhance mixing in microfluidic devices, typically limited to creeping-flow regimes.
Experiments: Numerical simulations based on the Navier–Stokes equations are carried out to elucidate the flow structure associated with the wetting dynamics of a liquid film spreading around a 50 μm diameter micro-pillar. The employed multiphase solver, which is based on the volume of fluid method, accurately reproduces the wetting dynamics observed in current and previous (Mu et al., Langmuir, 2019) experiments.
Findings: The flow structure within the liquid meniscus forming at the foot of the micro-pillar evinces a horseshoe vortex wrapping around the obstacle, notwithstanding that the Reynolds number in our system is extremely low. Here, the adverse pressure gradient driving flow reversal near the bounding wall is caused by capillarity instead of inertia. The horseshoe vortex is entangled with other vortical structures, leading to an intricate flow system with high-potential mixing capabilities.
To investigate the ultrasonographic features of medullary thyroid carcinomas (MTCs) of different sizes and supply valid information for separating MTCs from papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs).
There ...were 87 patients with MTC and 220 patients with PTC detected by ultrasonography and confirmed by pathology at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from June 2018 to March 2022. Nodules were divided into the large nodule group (the maximum diameter of the tumor was>1 cm) and the small nodule group (the maximum diameter of the tumor was ≤1 cm). There were 97 cases in the small nodule group, including 28 cases of MTC and 69 cases of PTC. There were 210 cases in the large nodule group, including 59 cases of MTC and 151 cases of PTC. After stratification by thyroid nodules, ultrasonographic features of thyroid nodules and metastatic lymph nodes, preoperative serum calcitonin (CT) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were compared between MTC and PTC patients.
In the small nodule group, the pro
This study aims to explore the temporal trend of Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) and its symptoms after laparoscopic anterior resection for rectal cancer.
A retrospective cohort study design ...was employed. The study included primary rectal (adenocarcinoma) cancer patients who underwent laparoscopic anterior resection at Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2020. Complete medical records and follow-up data at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months postoperatively were available for all patients. A total of 1454 patients were included, of whom 1094 (75.2%) were aged ≤65 years, and 597 (41.1%) were females. Among them, 1040 cases (71.5%) had an anastomosis-to-anus distance of 0-5cm, and 86 cases (5.9%) received neoadjuvant treatment. All patients completed the Chinese version of the LARS questionnaire and their LARS occurrence and specific symptom information were recorded at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months postoperatively. Considering past literature and
Two nearly degenerate positive-parity bands with the πg9/22⊗νg9/2−1 configuration and three nearly degenerate negative-parity bands with the πg9/2(p3/2,f5/2)⊗νg9/2−1 configuration have been ...identified in 81Kr. They are interpreted as chiral doublet bands and pseudospin-chiral triplet bands, which is supported by the constrained covariant density functional theory and the multiparticle plus rotor model calculations. The present work reports two new chiral configurations πg9/22⊗νg9/2−1 and πg9/2(p3/2,f5/2)⊗νg9/2−1, and the first example of pseudospin-chiral triplet bands involving the π(p3/2,f5/2) pseudospin doublet.
To observe the wear performance of Giomer and universal composite for posterior restorations by 3D laser scan method, in order to guide the material selection in clinic.
In this study, 48 patients ...(108 teeth) were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All the patients in need of a minimum of 2 Class Ⅰ and/or Class Ⅱ restorations were invited to join the study. The teeth were restored with Giomer (Beautifil Ⅱ, BF) and universal composite (Filtek Z350, Z350) randomly. The restorations were evaluated at baseline and after 6-, 18-, 48-month using the modified United States Public Health Service (USPHS) criteria for clinical performance. The
images and gypsum replicas were taken at each recall. A 3D-laser scanner and Geomagic Studio 12 were used to analyze the wear depth quantitatively. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 20.0.
After 4 years, 89.6% patients were recalled. The survival rate of both materials was 95.8% (Kaplan-Meier survival analysis). Seven restorations of the two mat
Nearly degenerate positive-parity doublet bands and several E1 transitions between positive- and negative-parity bands have been identified in 76Br. These experimental observations are interpreted as ...the coexistence of chirality and octupole correlations, based on the analysis of detailed γ-ray spectroscopy with the precise lifetime measurements and theoretical calculations, and play a key role to explore the simultaneous breaking of chiral and reflection symmetry and their interplay. The present work provides the first test for chirality in the A≈80 mass region by lifetime measurements, and firstly elucidates the formation of chiral geometry in the presence of the octupole correlations in Br isotopes, leading to the conclusion that the reflection symmetry breaking catalyzes rather than destroys chiral symmetry breaking in nuclear systems.