Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are abundant and heterogeneous stromal cells in tumor microenvironment that are critically involved in cancer progression. Here, we demonstrate that two ...cell-surface molecules, CD10 and GPR77, specifically define a CAF subset correlated with chemoresistance and poor survival in multiple cohorts of breast and lung cancer patients. CD10+GPR77+ CAFs promote tumor formation and chemoresistance by providing a survival niche for cancer stem cells (CSCs). Mechanistically, CD10+GPR77+ CAFs are driven by persistent NF-κB activation via p65 phosphorylation and acetylation, which is maintained by complement signaling via GPR77, a C5a receptor. Furthermore, CD10+GPR77+ CAFs promote successful engraftment of patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), and targeting these CAFs with a neutralizing anti-GPR77 antibody abolishes tumor formation and restores tumor chemosensitivity. Our study reveals a functional CAF subset that can be defined and isolated by specific cell-surface markers and suggests that targeting the CD10+GPR77+ CAF subset could be an effective therapeutic strategy against CSC-driven solid tumors.
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•CD10 and GPR77 define a new CAF subset•CD10+GPR77+ CAFs sustain cancer stemness and promote tumor chemoresistance•Complement signaling maintains NF-κB activation•Targeting CD10+GPR77+ CAFs restores chemosensitivity
CD10 and GPR77 identify a cancer stemness-sustaining cancer-associated fibroblast subset.
Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many humorous videos on how to practice social distancing appeared on social media. However, the effect of using humor as a crisis communication strategy to ...persuade people to conform to social distancing rules is not known.
Objective
Drawing on the literature on humorous message framing and crisis communication, this research explores the effectiveness of a humorous message in communicating social distancing rules in two crisis severity phases (low vs. high severity) and also evaluates how humor affects individuals’ online and offline engagement intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
A 2 (message framing: humorous vs. non-humorous) x 2 (crisis severity phase: low vs. high) between-subjects design experiment was conducted to test the research questions during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in China from January 30 to February 2, 2020.
Results
The results showed that the severity of the phase of a health crisis can significantly affect stakeholders’ online and offline responses toward the disease. More specifically, in a low severity phase, humor led to increased source likability for the message, and more online and offline engagement intentions. However, no differences between a humorous and non-humorous message in perceived risk were observed. Whereas, in a high severity crisis phase, humor reduced individuals’ offline engagement intentions and a decrease in perceived risk, no significant difference was found between a humorous and non-humorous message on source likeability.
Conclusion
Humor can motivate both more online engagement and offline protective action intention when the crisis severity phase is low, while when crisis severity soars, a non-humorous message should be more desirable. More specifically, using humor in communicating information about an infectious disease can enhance the spokesperson’s likeability in a low severity phase, and also helps to spread health information to a larger audience. While, the negative side of using humor in communicating an infectious disease appears in severe crisis phases, as it then decreased the public’s perception of risk, and triggers less protective actions. Going beyond previous research, this study recognized that crisis severity changes in different phases of the spread of infectious disease, thereby providing actionable strategy selections for crisis practitioners in a dynamic communication environment.
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•Thermal decomposition of the ε-Keggin-type polyoxomolybdate clusters Mo12O28(μ2-OH)12{Ni(H2O)3}4 and Mo12O28(μ2-OH)12{Co(H2O)3}4 produces NiMoO4 and CoMoO4 phases.•The NiMoO4 and ...CoMoO4 phases are converted in alloys with a metal ratio of 1:1.•The Ni–Mo and Co–Mo alloy nanoparticles catalyze a CCVD growth of carbon nanotubes.
Here, we show for the first time a catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using polyoxomolybdate clusters Mo12O28(μ2-OH)12{Ni(H2O)3}4 and Mo12O28(μ2-OH)12{Co(H2O)3}4 as a source of catalyst nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction analyses indicated that the products of thermal decomposition of the clusters contain NiMoO4 and CoMoO4 phases, which are converted into Ni–Mo and Co–Mo alloys at 900°C in hydrogen environment. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy in combination with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed the CNT growth from bimetallic nanoparticles. Synergism between two metals in an alloy resulted in large-scale production of non-bundled few-walled CNTs with narrow diameter distribution and high quality.
Copper–Palladium Phase Diagram Fedorov, P. P.; Shubin, Yu. V.; Chernova, E. V.
Russian journal of inorganic chemistry,
06/2021, Letnik:
66, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Phase equilibria in the copper–palladium system are extrapolated to absolute zero of temperature subject to the third law of thermodynamics. The continuous solid solution with a FCC structure that ...crystallizes from melt experiences ordering to yield two intermetallic phases (Kurnakov phases), whose compositions shrink to CuPd and Cu
3
Pd stoichiometries as temperature lowers. As temperature raises, palladium partially occupies copper sites in the intermetallic phases. Ordering obeying a second-order phase transition to yield a phase whose idealized composition may be formulated as Cu
21
Pd
7
. When in a solid state, the system forms an eutectoid at 390°C and 30 at % Pd and two dystectoids with coordinates of 510°C, 15 at % Pd and 600°C, 40 at % Pd.
The rise of digital health services, particularly digital doctor consultations, has created a new paradigm in health care choice. While patients traditionally rely on digital reviews or referrals to ...select health care providers, the digital context often lacks such information, leading to reliance on visual cues such as profile pictures. Previous research has explored the impact of physical attractiveness in general service settings but is scant in the context of digital health care.
This study aims to fill the research gap by investigating how a health care provider's physical attractiveness influences patient preferences in a digital consultation setting. We also examine the moderating effects of disease severity and the availability of information on health care providers' qualifications. The study uses signal theory and the sexual attribution bias framework to understand these dynamics.
Three experimental studies were conducted to examine the influence of health care providers' physical attractiveness and gender on patient preferences in digital consultations. Study 1 (n=282) used a 2×2 between-subjects factorial design, manipulating doctor attractiveness and gender. Study 2 (n=158) focused on women doctors and manipulated disease severity and participant gender. Study 3 (n=150) replicated study 2 but added information about the providers' abilities.
This research found that patients tend to choose attractive doctors of the opposite gender but are less likely to choose attractive doctors of the same gender. In addition, our studies revealed that such an effect is more prominent when the disease severity is high. Furthermore, the influence of gender stereotypes is mitigated in both the high and low disease severity conditions when service providers' qualification information is present.
This research contributes to the literature on medical information systems research and sheds light on what information should be displayed on digital doctor consultation platforms. To counteract stereotype-based attractiveness biases, health care platforms should consider providing comprehensive qualification information alongside profile pictures.
The equilibrium Cu–Pd phase diagram has been experimentally reinvestigated in the 300–680 °C temperature region by powder XRD involving a high-temperature technique. To reduce the annealing time ...needed for the system to attain the equilibrium state, nanosized specimens with a characteristic crystallite size of 5–15 nm were used initially. All previously reported phases, i.e., a disordered face-centered cubic solid solution Cu1-xPdx (A1), a one-dimensional long-period superlattice structure Cu21Pd7 (1D–LPS), intermetallic compounds Cu3Pd (L12) and CuPd (B2), except a two-dimensional long-period superlattice structure (2D–LPS), could be confirmed.
Homogeneity ranges of all solid phases existing in the Cu–Pd system were determined at distinct temperatures. The largest deviation of the solubility limits was observed for the Pd-rich boundary of the Cu3Pd region (25–30 at.% Pd) and the Cu-rich boundary of the Cu1-xPdx region in the compositional range >55 at.% Pd. Based on the present experimental results, the constitutional Cu–Pd diagram was modified.
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•The Cu–Pd phase diagram has been experimentally reinvestigated.•Ordering occurs through the nucleation and growth mechanism.•The disorder → order transformations near the critical temperature proceeds rapidly.•Proposed the corrected phase diagram of the Cu–Pd system.
The possibility of using ruthenium in the composition of palladium–rhodium catalysts used to neutralize the exhaust gases of vehicles with gasoline engines was investigated. The thermolysis of a ...supported precursor in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres led to the formation of samples with different initial catalytic activity. The stability of trimetallic systems was compared under conditions of prompt thermal aging with that of reference samples of similar chemical composition but obtained by mechanical mixing of monometallic catalysts. The results obtained allowed us to conclude that the alloy nanoparticles were more stable, and the thermolysis of the precursor in a reducing atmosphere contributed to a higher initial activity of the catalyst in the oxidation of CO. According to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data, the high thermal stability of trimetallic catalysts was due to a constant ratio between metals on the support surface in the course of the catalytic reaction.
Phase Diagram of the Nickel–Platinum System Fedorov, P. P.; Popov, A. A.; Shubin, Yu. V. ...
Russian journal of inorganic chemistry,
12/2022, Letnik:
67, Številka:
12
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The phase diagram of the nickel–platinum system was constructed with extrapolation of phase equilibria to absolute zero temperature according to the requirements of the third law of thermodynamics. ...An
fcc
continuous solid solution crystallizing from the melt undergoes ordering with separation into three intermetallic phases (Kurnakov phases), whose homogeneity regions with decreasing temperature tend to stoichiometric compositions Ni
3
Pt, NiPt, and NiPt
3
. With increasing temperature, platinum and nickel occupy some of the crystallographic positions of the second component in the intermetallic phases. In the solid state, in the system, there are two eutectoids with the coordinates (500°C, 36 at % Pt) and (480°C, 64 at % Pt) and three dystectoids with the coordinates (515°C, 31 at % Pt), (645°C, 50 at %Pt), and (510°C, 72 at % Pt).
Emerging evidence shows that the biomechanical environment is required to support cancer stem cells (CSCs), which play a crucial role in drug resistance. However, how mechanotransduction signals ...regulate CSCs and its clinical significance has remained unclear. Using clinical-practice ultrasound elastography for patients' lesions and atomic force microscopy for surgical samples, we reveal that increased matrix stiffness is associated with poor responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, worse prognosis, and CSC enrichment in patients with breast cancer. Mechanically, TAZ activated by biomechanics enhances CSC properties via phase separation with NANOG. TAZ-NANOG phase separation, which is dependent on acidic residues in the N-terminal activation domain of NANOG, promotes the transcription of SOX2 and OCT4. Therapeutically, targeting NANOG or TAZ reduces CSCs and enhances the chemosensitivity in vivo. Collectively, this study demonstrated that the phase separation of a pluripotency transcription factor links mechanical cues in the niche to the fate of CSCs.
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