How Do Phosphorus Compounds with Different Valence States Affect the Flame Retardancy of PET?

This work investigated the effect of different valence states of phosphorus-containing compounds on thermal decomposition and flame retardancy of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Three polyphosphates-PBPP with +3-valence P, PBDP with +5-valence P and PBPDP with both +3/+5-valence P-were synthesized. The combustion behaviors of flame-retardant PET were studied and the structure-property relationships between the phosphorus-based structures with different valence states and flame-retardant properties were further explored. It was found that phosphorus valence states significantly affected the flame-retardant modes of action of polyphosphate in PET. For the phosphorus structures with +3-valence, more phosphorus-containing fragments were released in the gas phase, inhibiting polymer chain decomposition reactions; by contrast, those with +5-valence phosphorus retained more P in the condensed phase, promoting the formation of more P-rich char layers. It is worth noting that the polyphosphate containing both +3/+5-valence phosphorous tended to combine the advantage of phosphorus structures with two valence states and balance the flame-retardant effect in the gas phase and condensed phase. These results contribute to guiding the design of specified phosphorus-based structures of flame-retardant compounds in polymer materials.

A Phosphorous-Based Bi-Functional Flame Retardant Based on Phosphaphenanthrene and Aluminum Hypophosphite for an Epoxy Thermoset.

A phosphorous-based bi-functional compound HPDAl was used as a reactive-type flame retardant (FR) in an epoxy thermoset (EP) aiming to improve the flame retardant efficiency of phosphorus-based compounds. HPDAl, consisting of two different P-groups of aluminum phosphinate (AHP) and phosphophenanthrene (DOPO) with different phosphorous chemical environments and thus exerting different FR actions, exhibited an intramolecular P-P groups synergy and possessed superior flame-retardant efficiency compared with DOPO or AHP alone or the physical combination of DOPO/AHP in EP. Adding 2 wt.% HPDAl made EP composites acquire a LOI value of 32.3%, pass a UL94 V-0 rating with a blowing-out effect, and exhibit a decrease in the heat/smoke release. The flame retardant modes of action of HPDAl were confirmed by the experiments of the scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetry-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (TG-FTIR-GC/MS). The results indicate that the phosphorous-based FRs show different influences on the flame retardancy of composites, mainly depending on their chemical structures. HPDAl had a flame inhibition effect in the gas phase and a charring effect in the condensed phase, with a well-balanced distribution of P content in the gas/condensed phase. Furthermore, the addition of HPDAl hardly impaired the mechanical properties of the matrix due to the link by chemical bonds between them.

A synchrotron-based kilowatt-level radiation source for EUV lithography.

A compact damping ring with a limited circumference of about 160 m is proposed for producing kilowatt-level coherent EUV radiation. The electron bunch in the storage ring is modulated by a 257 nm wavelength seed laser with the help of the angular-dispersion-induced micro-bunching method (Feng and Zhao in Sci Rep 7:4724, 2017), coherent radiation at 13.5 nm with an average power of about 2.5 kW can be achieved with the state-of-the-art accelerator and laser technologies.

MiR-373 Inhibits the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition of Prostatic Cancer via Targeting Runt-Related Transcription Factor 2.

Prostatic cancer (PCa) is a prevalent form of malignancy based on its high associated levels of mortality and morbidity across the world. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are significant in the advancement of prostatic cancer. The current study is aimed at exploring the potential roles of miR-373 in PCa. In turn, the study conducted a qRT-PCR test to determine the levels of mRNA. A western blot test was also executed in determining the protein level. The processes of transwell assay and wound healing were integrated in the detection of the potential for PCa cells to invade and migrate. The integration of dual luciferase reporter assay is critical in determining the levels of luciferase activity among prostatic cancer cells. Then, the results showed a net decrease of miR-373 within prostatic cancer cells and tissues. Upregulated miR-373 reduced the invasion and migration potential of PCa cells. Moreover, overexpressed miR-373 increased the levels of E-cadherin and FSP1 as epithelial cell markers. Similarly, the overregulation of miR-373 brought about the upregulation of mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin, Snail, and vimentin). The study predicted runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) to be a target of miR-373. The luciferase activity of PCa cells was decreased after the cotransfection with miR-373 mimics and RUNX2 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) wild type (WT). Moreover, RUNX2 became upregulated in PCa cells and tissues. The upregulation of miR-373 decreased the mRNA and protein level of RUNX2. However, overexpressed RUNX2 abated the roles of miR-373 in the intrusion and migration of PCa cells and in regulating the expression of epithelial cell markers and mesenchymal markers. In short, miR-373 may regulate the EMT of PCa cells via targeting RUNX2. The miR-373/RUNX2 axis provides a therapeutic target for PCa.

Upregulation of JMJD2A promotes migration and invasion in bladder cancer through regulation of SLUG.

Jumonji domain­containing protein 2A (JMJD2A) has been identified to promote cell proliferation in bladder cancer; however, it remains undetermined whether JMJD2A regulates cell migration and invasion in bladder cancer. The aim of the present study was to further investigate the roles of JMJD2A in bladder cancer. The expression levels of JMJD2A in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines were established by RT­qPCR assays and western blot analysis. Moreover, by gain­ and loss­of­function assays, the effects of JMJD2A on migration and invasion as well as proliferation were investigated in bladder cancer cells. The results revealed that the expression level of JMJD2A was significantly upregulated in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines compared to adjacent non­tumor tissues and a human immortalized bladder urothelial cell line. Kaplan­Meier survival analysis indicated that patients with high JMJD2A expression level had shorter overall survival. Moreover, JMJD2A could promote cell migration and invasion by facilitating epithelial­mesenchymal transition (EMT) in bladder cancer. In addition, it was determined that JMJD2A promoted EMT through regulation of SLUG expression. Collectively, our findings revealed that JMJD2A may act as an oncogene and participate in bladder cancer progression, which provides a promising therapeutic strategy for patients with bladder cancer.

A fluorescent probe based on tetrahydro[5]helicene derivative with large Stokes shift for rapid and highly selective recognition of hydrogen sulfide.

In this work, we have designed and synthesized a dinitrobenzene-sulfonate tetrahydro[5]helicene (H-DNP) as an effective fluorescent probe for detection of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Upon the addition of H2S, a significant fluorescence enhancement (75-fold) at 495 nm can be observed with a distinct color change from colorless to yellow. Additionally, H-DNP shows low background spectroscopic signal, large Stokes Shift up to ~140 nm, good sensitivity, rapid response time less than 2 min, low detection limit (48 nM) and high selectivity toward common bio-thiols (Cysteine, Homocysteine and Glutathione). Compared with the previous dinitrophenoxy tetrahydro[5]helicene, this probe has shorter response time and lower detection limit. Most importantly, this probe H-DNP has low toxicity to cells and excellent cell permeability, which can be applied to visualize H2S in living cells.

Therapeutic effect and adverse reaction of sorafenib in the treatment of advanced renal cancer.

Efficacy and safety of sorafenib in patients with advanced renal cancer were evaluated. Seventy-four patients with advanced renal cancer treated with sorafenib + interferon from January 2010 to August 2013 were included as the observation group. Another 53 renal cancer patients treated with interferon alone were included in the control group. Clinical data of those patients were retrospectively analyzed. Treatment plan: initial dose was 400 mg, twice a day. Additionally, patients in the interferon group were treated with another 300 MU every other day. Efficacy was evaluated according to RECIST criteria, and progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and incidence of adverse reactions were recorded. In the observation group, a median OS was 15.3 months (range, 9-60 months), and a median PFS was 8.2 months (range, 2-36 months). There were 4 cases of complete remission (CR) (5.41%), 16 cases of partial remission (PR) (21.62%), 42 cases of stable disease (SD) (56.76%), 12 cases of disease progression (16.22%), and disease control rate (DCR) was 83.78% (62 cases). In the control group, median OS time was 12.5 months (range, 8-60 months), and the median PFS time was 9.3 months (range, 2-40 months). There were 2 cases of CR (3.77%), 11 cases of PR (20.75%), 20 cases of SD (37.74%), 20 cases of disease progression (37.74%), and DCR was 62.26% (33 cases). Disease control rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Main adverse events in the groups were skin reaction, fever, diarrhea, fatigue, rash, loss of appetite, hypertension, hair loss and liver function abnormality. Sorafenib-based targeted therapy for the treatment of advanced renal cancer has a higher rate of disease control, and the adverse reactions are controllable and tolerable.

Seed prioritized unwrapping (SPUN) for MR phase imaging.

BACKGROUND: Region-growing-based phase unwrapping methods have the potential for lossless phase aliasing removal, but generally suffer from unwrapping error propagation associated with discontinuous phase and/or long calculation times. The tradeoff point between robustness and efficiency of phase unwrapping methods in the region-growing category requires improvement. PURPOSE: To demonstrate an accurate, robust, and efficient region-growing phase unwrapping method for MR phase imaging applications. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. SUBJECTS, PHANTOM: normal human subjects (10) / brain surgery patients (2) / water phantoms / computer simulation. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3 T/gradient echo sequences (2D and 3D). ASSESSMENT: A seed prioritized unwrapping (SPUN) method was developed based on single-region growing, prioritizing only a portion (eg, 100 seeds or 1% seeds) of available seed voxels based on continuity quality during each region-growing iteration. Computer simulation, phantom, and in vivo brain and pelvis scans were performed. The error rates, seed percentages, and calculation times were recorded and reported. SPUN unwrapped phase images were visually evaluated and compared with Laplacian unwrapped results. STATISTICAL TESTS: Monte Carlo simulation was performed on a 3D dipole phase model with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 1-9 dB, to obtain the mean and standard deviation of calculation error rates and calculation times. RESULTS: Simulation revealed a very robust unwrapping performance of SPUN, reaching an error rate of <0.4% even with SNR as low as 1 dB. For all in vivo data, SPUN was able to robustly unwrap the phase images of modest SNR and complex morphology with visually minimal errors and fast calculation speed (eg, <4 min for 368 × 312 × 128 data) when using a proper seed priority number, eg, Nsp = 1 or 10 voxels for 2D and Nsp = 1% for 3D data. DATA CONCLUSION: SPUN offers very robust and fast region-growing-based phase unwrapping, and does not require any tissue masking or segmentation, nor poses a limitation over imaging parameters. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:62-70.

Role of intravoxel incoherent motion MRI in early assessment of the response of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma to chemoradiotherapy: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Since definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is standard therapy for inoperable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), early evaluation of treatment response is crucial for patients and would be useful in assessing response, especially in patients with severe side effects. PURPOSE: To explore the feasibility of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) MRI in the early assessment of treatment response to CRT. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. POPULATION: Twenty-three inoperable ESCC patients. SEQUENCE: IVIM 3T MRI of nine b values (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 500 and 800 s/mm2 ) was performed at four timepoints: pre-CRT (within 5 days before CRT), mid-CRT (2-3 weeks after the start of CRT), end-CRT (within 5 days after the end of CRT), and post-CRT (1 month after the end of CRT). ASSESSMENT: IVIM-based parameters and ADC were analyzed independently by two radiologists and treatment response was assessed by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). STATISTICAL TESTS: Analyses of variance for repeated measurements were conducted to observe dynamic changes of IVIM-based parameters (D, f, and D*) and ADC during CRT. The parameters and their change percentages (Δ%) were compared between complete response (CR) and partial response (PR) by Mann-Whitney U-test. Diagnostic performance of parameters in predicting response was tested with receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: ADC, D, and f increased significantly during CRT (P < 0.001, < 0.001, and 0.001, respectively). ADC, f, Δ%ADC, and Δ%D at mid-CRT in CR group were significantly higher than those in the PR group (P = 0.002, 0.013, 0.005, and 0.011, respectively). D combined with f and ADC had highest area under curve (0.917) in identifying CR from PR. DATA CONCLUSION: IVIM parameters proved useful in assessing response to definitive concurrent CRT for inoperable ESCC and combined with ADC at an early stage of treatment was a good predictor of response. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 4 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2018;48:349-358.

Comparison of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT with mpMRI for preoperative lymph node staging in patients with intermediate to high-risk prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the diagnostic value of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) for lymph node (LN) staging in patients with intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) with pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). METHODS: We retrospectively identified 42 consecutive patients with intermediate- to high-risk PCa according to D'Amico and without concomitant cancer. Preoperative 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT, pelvic mpMRI and subsequent robot assisted laparoscopic RP with PLND were performed in all patients. RESULTS: Among 42 patients assessed, the preoperative PSA value, Gleason score, pT stage and intraprostatic PCa volume of patients with LN metastases were all significantly higher than those without metastases (P = 0.029, 0.028, 0.004, respectively). The average maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT positive PCa of patients with or without LN metastases were 13.10 (range 6.12-51.75) and 7.22 (range 5.4-11.2), respectively (P < 0.001). 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT and pelvic mpMRI had the ability of succeed on preoperative definite accurate diagnosis and accurate localization of primary PCa in all 42 patients. Fifteen patients (35.71%) had a pN1 stage. 51 positive LN were found. Both 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT and pelvic mpMRI displayed brillient patient-based and region-based sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value. There was no statistical difference for the detection of LNMs according to the diameter of the LNMs between 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT and mpMRI in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Both 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT and mpMRI performed great value for LN staging in patients with intermediate- to high-risk PCa undergoing RP with PLND. However, despite excellent performance of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT, it cannot replace mpMRI that remains excellent for lymph node staging.

Role of intravoxel incoherent motion MR imaging in preoperative assessing HER2 status of gastric cancers.

PURPOSE: To explore the role of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in evaluating human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status of gastric cancers preoperatively. RESULTS: The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and pure diffusion coefficient (D) values correlated positively with HER2 scores of gastric cancers significantly (r = 0.276, P = 0.048; r = 0.481, P < 0.001, respectively). The ADC and D values of HER2 positive gastric cancers were significantly higher than those of HER2 negative tumors (P = 0.033, 0.007, respectively). With a cut-off value of 1.321 and 1.123 × 10-3 mm2/sec, the ADC and D values could distinguish HER2 positive gastric cancers from HER2 negative ones with an area under the curve of 0.733 and 0.762, respectively (P = 0.023, 0.011, respectively). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-three patients with gastric cancers underwent IVIM MR imaging preoperatively. The values of ADC, D, pseudo diffusion coefficient (D*) and perfusion related fraction (f) of the lesions were obtained. Partial correlation test including tumor volume was performed to analyze correlations between IVIM values and HER2 scores excluding the impact of tumor size. IVIM parameters of gastric cancers with different HER2 status were compared using independent samples t test. Diagnostic performance of IVIM parameters in distinguishing HER2 positive gastric cancers from negative ones was tested with receiver operating characteristic analysis. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed the feasibility of IVIM MR imaging in preoperative assessment of HER2 status of gastric cancers, which might make up the shortfall of biopsy and facilitate personalized treatment for patients with gastric cancers.

High CD4⁺ T cell density is associated with poor prognosis in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of CD4(+) T cells in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) tissues in situ. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the distribution of CD4(+) T cells in 131 NMIBC tissues. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied to estimate overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). RESULTS: NMIBC patients were divided into two groups based on the median frequency of CD4(+) T cells (median, 1/×400 high resolution). On univariate analysis, CD4(+) T cell density was inversely associated with overall survival (P = 0.01). In those patients with high CD4(+) T density, 5-year OS rates was only 77%, compared with 86% in those with low density, respectively. Although CD4(+) T cell density showed no prognostic significance for RFS (P = 0.36), 5-year RFS rates of patients with high CD4(+) T density (58%) was lower than those of patients with low CD4(+) T density (65%, respectively). By multivariate analysis, tumor infiltrating CD4(+) T cell density emerged as an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR, 2.75; P = 0.004). In addition, no association was found between CD4(+) T cell density and any clinicopathological variables (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that CD4(+) T cells could potentially serve as a poor prognostic marker for patients with NMIBC.