Viral etiology, clinical and laboratory features of adult hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (SHLH) is a potentially fatal hyperinflammatory syndrome with a heterogeneous etiology and has nonspecific clinical and laboratory findings. The diagnosis and treatment of adult SHLH is challenging because the etiology of the disease is difficult to identify, and the majority of reported cases are pediatric patients. The aim of this study was to describe the etiology, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of adult SHLH. Fifty-four adult patients who fulfilled the criteria of SHLH were enrolled in the study. Viral etiology, blood biomarkers, and clinical manifestations of SHLH were analyzed in these patients. Twenty-four SHLH patients had viraemia, whereas 30 SHLH patients were secondary to other diseases. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was the most common virus that associated SHLH among all viruses studied. Severe SHLH patients with EBV-viraemia presented significantly high levels of ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase (AST), and alanine transaminase (ALT). Positively relationships existed between EBV DNA titers and levels of AST and ALT (P < 0.05). The prognosis of SHLH patients with EBV viraemia was worse than that of non-EBV SHLH and non-viral SHLH. Our data reveal that EBV is the major pathogen in virus-associated SHLH, and EBV load influence disease development in SHLH patients with EBV infection that prognosis is worse than other viruses associated SHLH.

Realization of a quadrupole topological insulator phase in a gyromagnetic photonic crystal.

The field of topological photonics was initiated with the realization of a Chern insulator phase in a gyromagnetic photonic crystal (PhC) with broken time-reversal symmetry (T), hosting chiral edge states that are topologically protected propagating modes. Along a separate line of research, a quadrupole topological insulator was the first higher-order topological phase supporting localized corner states, but has been so far limited to T-invariant systems, as T is a key ingredient in early models. Here we report the realization of a quadrupole topological insulator phase in a gyromagnetic PhC, as a consequence of topological phase transition from the previously demonstrated Chern insulator phase. The phase transition has been demonstrated with microwave measurements, which characterize the evolution from propagating chiral edge states to localized corner states. We also demonstrate the migration of topological boundary states into the continuum, when the gyromagnetic PhC is magnetically tuned. These results extend the quadrupole topological insulator phase into T-broken systems, and integrate topologically protected propagating and localized modes in a magnetically tunable photonic crystal platform.

Lightweight MXene-Based Hybrid Aerogels with Ultrabroadband Terahertz Absorption and Anisotropic Strain Sensitivity.

MXene aerogels with a three-dimensional (3D) network structure have attracted increasing attention for lightweight electromagnetic wave absorbers. It is intriguing to expand their absorption band, i.e., to the booming terahertz (THz) region, and explore multifunctionality. Herein, we assemble MXene (Ti3C2Tx)-based hybrid aerogels into an aligned lamellar architecture using a bidirectional freezing technique. With air pore size and lamellar layer spacing comparable to THz wavelengths, high porosity of the aerogels allows nearly isotropic absorption of 99% and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness with a remarkable value of 57.5 dB, in the ultrabroad bandwidth ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 THz. Simultaneous, strain-sensing response reflects the macroscopic anisotropy of the network structure of the aerogels. The improved sensitivity is measured for the out-of-lamellar layer plane under 0-30% strain. The corresponding long-term stability and durability persist over 120 stretching-releasing cycles. Our findings thus not only expand multiple functions of MXene in an anisotropic 3D macroscopic form but also clarify its nearly isotropic absorption in the THz band.

Combined effects of radiotherapy and endostatin gene therapy in melanoma tumor model.

PEgr-Endostatin-EGFP plasmid was constructed to investigate its expression properties induced by ionizing irradiation and the effect of pEgr-Endostatin-EGFP gene-radiotherapy on melanoma tumor-bearing mice. The pEgr-Endostatin-EGFP plasmid was transfected into B16 cell line with liposome. The expression property of endostatin was investigated by RT-PCR and that of EGFP was detected by flow cytometry. Tumor-bearing mice were treated by the plasmid injection and 2 Gy X-irradiation of three fractions. Tumor growth was observed for 18 days after treatment. Change of tumor capillary formation was measured with histochemistry assay at the end of the experiment. The expression of GFP in B16 melanoma cells was detected after X-irradiation with 0.05-20 Gy. Time-course studies showed that the expression of GFP in B16 cells reached its peak at 8 h after irradiation with 2 Gy. The injection of pEgr-Endostatin-EGFP recombinant plasmid into the implanted B16 melanoma in C57BL/6J mice followed by local X-irradiation could significantly inhibit tumor growth with inhibition of intratumor micro-vessel density. The inhibitory effect of pEgr-Endostatin-EGFP gene-radiotherapy on the growth of B16 melanoma is correlated with the marked decrease of intratumoral vascularization. The present data point to the potential of an anti-angiogenic approach in gene-radiotherapy of cancer.