Development of a haematological indices-based nomogram for prognostic prediction and immunotherapy response assessment in primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma patients.

Background: Primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (PPLELC) is a rare yet aggressive malignancy. This study aims to investigate a deep learning model based on hematological indices, referred to as haematological indices-based signature (HIBS), and propose multivariable predictive models for accurate prognosis prediction and assessment of therapeutic response to immunotherapy in PPLELC. Methods: This retrospective study included 117 patients with PPLELC who received immunotherapy and were randomly divided into a training (n=82) and a validation (n=35) cohort. A total of 41 hematological features were extracted from routine laboratory tests and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm were utilized to establish the HIBS. Additionally, we developed a nomogram using the HIBS and clinical characteristics through multivariate Cox regression analysis. To evaluate the nomogram's predictive performance, we used calibration curves and calculated the time-dependent area under the curve (AUC). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to estimate progression-free survival (PFS) in both cohorts. Results: The proposed HIBS comprised 14 hematological features and showed that patients who experienced disease progression had significantly higher HIBS scores compared to those who did not progress (P<0.001). Five prognostic factors, including HIBS, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, presence of bone metastasis and the specific immunotherapy regimen, were found to be independent factors and were used to construct a nomogram, which effectively categorized PPLELC patients into a high-risk and a low-risk group, with patients in the high-risk patients demonstrating worse PFS (7.0 vs. 18.0 months, P<0.001) and lower overall response rates (22.2% vs. 52.7%, P<0.001). The nomogram showed satisfactory discrimination for PFS, with AUC values of 0.837 and 0.855 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. Conclusions: The HIBS-based nomogram could effectively predict the PFS and response of patients with PPLELC regarding immunotherapy and serve as a valuable tool for clinical decision making.

Dealkylation in Fluid Catalytic Cracking Condition for Efficient Conversion of Heavy Aromatics to Benzene-Toluene-Xylene.

Based on the characteristics of typical C9 + aromatics in naphtha fractions, the effects of key process parameters and heavy aromatic composition on product distribution of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) of heavy aromatics (HAs) were investigated. The results show that catalysts with large pore size and strong acid sites are favorable for the conversion of HAs to benzene-toluene-xylene (BTX) at higher reaction temperatures and moderate catalyst-oil ratios (C/O). With a Y zeolite-based catalyst which was hydrothermally pretreated for 4 h, the conversion of Feed 1 at 600 °C and C/O of 10 may reach 64.93%. Meanwhile, the yield and selectivity of BTX are 34.80 and 53.61%, respectively. The proportion of BTX can be adjusted within a certain range. The HAs from different sources show high conversion and good BTX selectivity, which provides strong support for the technological development of HAs to light aromatics in FCC operation.

Long-term effects of methadone maintenance treatment with different psychosocial intervention models.

This study evaluated the long-term effects of different psychosocial intervention models in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in Xi'an China. Patients from five MMT clinics were divided into three groups receiving MMT only, MMT with counseling psychology (CP) or MMT with contingency management (CM). A five-year follow-up was carried out with daily records of medication, monthly random urine morphine tests, and tests for anti-HIV and anti-HCV every six months. Drug use behavior was recorded six months after initial recruitment using a survey. Adjusted RRs and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using an unconditional logistic regression model or a Cox proportional hazard model. A total of 2662 patients were recruited with 797 in MMT, 985 in MMT with CP, and 880 in MMT with CM. Following six months of treatment, the injection rates of MMT with CP and MMT with CM groups were significantly lower than that of MMT (5.1% and 6.9% vs. 16.3%, x²  =  47.093 and 29.908, respectively; P<0.05). HIV incidences for MMT, MMT with CP and MMT with CM at the five year follow-up were 20.09, 0.00 and 10.02 per ten thousand person-years, respectively. HCV incidences were 18.35, 4.42 and 6.61 per hundred person-years, respectively, demonstrating that CP and CM were protective factors for HCV incidence (RR  =  0.209 and 0.414, with range of 0.146-0.300 and 0.298-0.574, respectively). MMT supplemented with CP or CM can reduce heroin use and related risk behaviors, thereby reducing the incidence of HIV and HCV.

A study of 6-year retention in methadone maintenance treatment among opioid-dependent patients in Xi'an.

OBJECTIVE: We analyzed a 6-year methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) retention rate in 8 MMT clinics in Xi'an and the factors that influenced the retention rate. METHODS: We conducted a 6-year retrospective dynamic cohort study of 5849 eligible patients from 2006 to 2011. Participants were serially enrolled on the basis of opioid addiction, age, residence status, and civil capacity. Cumulative retention in treatment was calculated using survival analyses (life tables) on the basis of the number of days in MMT. We also used the Cox proportional hazard regression model to analyze the factors that may influence treatment retention. RESULTS: The MMT retention varied from a less than 1 month to a maximum of 71.2 months; the average dose was 48.76 ± 17.03 mg/d. The cumulative retention for 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 months after MMT initiation were 0.87, 0.76, 0.66, 0.57, 0.49, and 0.43, respectively. The MMT retention rate was significantly associated with factors that included the particular clinic for MMT, the year when the subject initiated MMT, average daily dose, hidden drug use, sex, age, length of drug abuse history, needle sharing, living arrangements, and employment status. CONCLUSIONS: The 6-year retention rates for MMT in the 8 clinics in Xi'an were higher than those reported in other studies of other clinics. High therapeutic doses (>60 mg/d) could reduce the risk of patients withdrawing from treatment. Retention rates were relatively high in cohorts who were elderly, living with family, employed, or drug users, especially those with a long history of drug abuse.

Fluorogenic probing of specific recognitions between sugar ligands and glycoprotein receptors on cancer cells by an economic graphene nanocomposite.

Economical nanocomposites based on π-stacking of N-acetyl glycosyl rhodamine B to graphene oxide (GO) are simply prepared. These "sweet" GO-materials are proven to be admirable for the fluorogenic recognition of specific intercellular sugar-based ligand-glycoprotein receptor interactions of interest.