Dynamic changes of peripheral inflammatory markers link with disease severity and predict short-term poor outcome of myasthenia gravis.

The relationship between peripheral inflammatory markers, their dynamic changes, and the disease severity of myasthenia gravis (MG) is still not fully understood. Besides, the possibility of using it to predict the short-term poor outcome of MG patients have not been demonstrated. This study aims to investigate the relationship between peripheral inflammatory markers and their dynamic changes with Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) classification (primary outcome) and predict the short-term poor outcome (secondary outcome) in MG patients. The study retrospectively enrolled 154 MG patients from June 2016 to December 2021. The logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship of inflammatory markers with MGFA classification and determine the factors for model construction presented in a nomogram. Finally, net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were utilized to evaluate the incremental capacity. Logistic regression revealed significant associations between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), aggregate index of systemic inflammation (AISI) and MGFA classification (p = 0.013, p = 0.032, p = 0.017, respectively). Incorporating dynamic changes of inflammatory markers into multivariable models improved their discriminatory capacity of disease severity, with significant improvements observed for NLR, systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and AISI in NRI and IDI. Additionally, AISI was statistically associated with short-term poor outcome and a prediction model incorporating dynamic changes of inflammatory markers was constructed with the area under curve (AUC) of 0.953, presented in a nomograph. The inflammatory markers demonstrate significant associations with disease severity and AISI could be regarded as a possible and easily available predictive biomarker for short-term poor outcome in MG patients.

Systemic Inflammatory Response Index, a Potential Inflammatory Biomarker in Disease Severity of Myasthenia Gravis: A Pilot Retrospective Study.

Purpose: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disease caused by neuromuscular junction (NMJ) dysfunction. Our current understanding of MG's inflammatory component remains poor. The systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) presents a promising yet unexplored biomarker for assessing MG severity. This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between SIRI and MG disease severity. Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical data from 171 MG patients admitted between January 2016 and June 2021. Patients with incomplete data, other autoimmune diseases, or comorbidities were excluded. Disease severity was evaluated using the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) classification and Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) on admission. The association between SIRI and disease severity was assessed through logistic regression analysis, along with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and decision curve analysis (DCA) comparisons with established inflammation indicators. Results: After exclusion, 143 patients were analyzed in our study. SIRI levels significantly differed between patients with higher and lower disease severity (p < 0.001). Univariate logistic regression showed that SIRI had a significant effect on high disease severity (OR = 1.376, 95% CI 1.138-1.664, p = 0.001). This association remained significant even after adjusting for age, sex, disease duration, history of MG medication and thymoma (OR = 1.308, 95% CI 1.072-1.597, p = 0.008). Additionally, a positive correlation between SIRI and MG-ADL was observed (r = 0.232, p = 0.008). Significant interactions were observed between SIRI and immunosuppressor (p interaction = 0.001) and intravenous immunoglobulin (p interaction = 0.005). DCA demonstrated the superior net clinical benefit of SIRI compared to other markers when the threshold probability was around 0.2. Conclusion: Our findings indicate a strong independent association between SIRI and disease severity in MG, suggesting SIRI's potential as a valuable biomarker for MG with superior clinical benefit to currently utilized markers.

Preparation, characterization, and removal of nitrate from water using vacant polyoxometalate/TiO2 composites.

Due to the rapid development of industry and agriculture, nitrate pollution in groundwater has been continuously increasing. NO3-N is a chemically stable nitrogen species and is quite difficult to remove. In this study, using heteropoly silicotungstate K8[α-SiW11O39] and Cu2+ as the active components, SiW11 and Cu2+ were loaded onto TiO2 by a sol-gel method to prepare a composite photocatalyst SiW11/TiO2/Cu. The photocatalytic reduction of dissolved NO3-N was subsequently performed using SiW11/TiO2/Cu under UV irradiation, and the influence of different experimental parameters on the photocatalytic performance was investigated. The mechanism of NO3-N reduction by the composite catalyst was also investigated. Free radicals existing within the system were detected by ESR spectroscopy, and the results indicated that CO2- anion free-radicals were generated by the reaction of photogenerated holes and formic acid (HCOOH). At a SiW11/TiO2/Cu dose of 1.2 g L-1 and in the presence of HCOOH as a hole scavenger, the proposed composite catalytically reduced NO3-N anddemonstrated significantadvantages in terms of its photocatalytic activity in comparison with pure TiO2. In particular, the removal efficiency of NO3-N and the selectivity of nitrogen achieved a maximum of 96% and 77%, respectively.

Characterization of TiO2 and an as-prepared TiO2/SiO2 composite and their photocatalytic performance for the reduction of low-concentration N-NO3- in water.

Excessive N-NO3- water pollution has become a widespread and serious problem that threatens human and ecosystem health. Here, a TiO2/SiO2 composite photocatalyst was prepared via the sol-gel/hydrothermal method. TiO2 and TiO2/SiO2 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis differential reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Afterward, the photocatalytic performance of TiO2 and TiO2/SiO2 to reduce low nitrate concentrations (30 mgN L-1) under UV light was evaluated and the effects of different factors on this process were investigated, after which the reaction conditions were optimized. Removal rates of up to 99.93% were achieved at a hole scavenger (formic acid) concentration of 0.6 mL L-1, a CO2 flow rate of 0.1 m3 h-1, and a TiO2 concentration of 0.9 g L-1. In contrast, TiO2/SiO2 at a 1.4 g L-1 concentration and a TiO2 load rate of 40% achieved a removal rate of 83.48%, but with more than 98% of nitrogen generation rate. NO2- and NH4+ were the minor products, whereas N2 was the main product.

Synthesis of polyoxometalates (POM)/TiO2/Cu and removal of nitrate nitrogen in water by photocatalysis.

Nitrate nitrogen is one of the vital issues needed to be addressed in the water purification process utilizing groundwater as a drinking water source. In this study, a sandwich-type polyoxometalate Na [α-SiW9O34] has been synthesized and SiW9/TiO2/Cu composite has been prepared by sol-gel method. Samples have been characterized by XRD, BET, FTIR, SEM, ED-Mapping, UV-Vis, XPS. The catalytic reduction of nitrate was performed in the presence of SiW9/TiO2/Cu composite as photocatalyst. The effects of catalyst loading, initial nitrate concentration, sandwich-type polyoxometalate loading, dissolved O2, and concentration of formic acid on nitrate removal have been investigated. The results showed that the prepared composite catalyst had better photocatalytic activity than the TiO2. 76.53% of nitrate removal with 82.09% of N2 selectivity was obtained under the following conditions: catalyst dosage 0.8 g/L, initial nitrate concentration of 30 mg/L, SiW9/Cu loading percentage of 10%, 30 mmol/L of formic acid, in presence of N2, and 6 h reaction time.

Removal of nitrate nitrogen from water by phosphotungstate-supported TiO2 photocatalytic method.

Nitrate nitrogen in water, especially in groundwater, is a major problem in the current drinking water environment. In this study, copper- and nickel-modified phosphotungstate catalysts supported on TiO2 were prepared by the sol-gel solvothermal method, and photocatalytic reduction by phosphotungstate was used to remove nitrate nitrogen in water under ultraviolet irradiation. The maximum removal rate was 59.60% with 0.8 g/L Cu-H3PW12O40/TiO2, 90 mg/L nitrate nitrogen, and 60 min reaction time. For Ni-H3PW12O40/TiO2, the maximum removal rate of nitrate nitrogen was 54.58%, achieved with a catalyst concentration of 0.8 g/L, nitrate nitrogen concentration of 120 mg/L, and reaction time of 30 min. Both catalysts could remove nitrate nitrogen from water under the condition of photocatalysis.

Preparation and characterization of a copper phosphotungstate/titanium dioxide (Cu-H3PW12O40/TiO2) composite and the photocatalytic oxidation of high-concentration ammonia nitrogen.

Currently, the majority of wastewater with a high concentration of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+/NH3) is treated using biological methods, which have poor biodegradability and low removal efficiency. In this paper, a composite photocatalyst of copper phosphotungstate/titanium dioxide (Cu-H3PW12O40/TiO2) was prepared by sol-gel hydrothermal synthesis, and the composite catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-VIS-DRS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)、scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The photocatalytic oxidation of a high-concentration NH4+/NH3 solution was carried out under ultraviolet (UV) light to explore the effects of different influencing factors on the photocatalytic effect and to optimize the reaction conditions. The prepared composite catalyst exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than that of TiO2. When the initial concentration of the solution was 300 mg·L-1, the initial pH was 11, the catalyst concentration was 1.5 g·L-1, the loading level of Cu-H3PW12O40 was 40%, and the aeration rate was 1.5 L·min-1, the removal rate of NH4+/NH3 by the composite photocatalyst could reach >80%. Very little NO2- and NO3- were produced, and N2 was the main product.

Combinational Treatment of Doxorubicin With Neoadjuvant Docetaxel for Different Subtypes of Patients With Breast Cancer.

AIM: The aim of this study is to characterize the effect of chemotherapy drug doxorubicin with neoadjuvant drug docetaxel for different molecular subtypes. METHODS: A total of 83 patients with late-stage breast cancer were chosen to undergo treatment and compared to these patients to the combinational treatment to identify the molecular characteristics that can predict the responses. RESULTS: Total response rate is 81.9% (68/83 patients). Among them, 7 patients show pathological complete response of 8.4%, 12 patients show clinical complete response of 14.5%, 49 patients show partial response of 59%, and 15 patients show stable disease of 18.1%. The comparison among different subtypes of breast cancer, including luminal A, luminal B, basal-like, and ERBB2+ subtypes, did not show statistical significant differences to the treatment of combinational treatment for the complete response rate, including pathological complete response and clinical complete response. Comparing with luminal A and luminal B subtypes, the ERBB2+ and basal-like subtypes have better complete response and response rate rates. The disease-free survival rate and overall survival rate at 29 months after treatment did not show statistical significant differences among different subtypes of patients with breast cancer. CONCLUSION: The molecular subtypes of breast cancer can predict responses to the combinational treatment of doxorubicin with docetaxel, and ERBB2+ and basal-like subtypes have better response rate and complete response rate. There is correlation of estrogen receptor and KI-67 level changes with response rate as well, where KI-67 high patients are more sensitive to the treatment.

RETRACTED: Effects of high-energy electro-pulsing treatment on microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor. Figure 5 duplicates figure 8 of the article that had already appeared in Materials Characterization 98 (2014) 147-161, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2014.10.026, figure 12 of the paper that had appeared in Applied Physics A 117 (2014) 2251-2264, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00339-014-8655-1, as well as panels from figure 12 of the article that had appeared in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds 616 (2014) 173-183, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.07.143. Figure 6 duplicates figure 9 of the article that had already appeared in Materials Characterization 98 (2014) 147-161, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2014.10.026 and figure 13 of the article that had appeared in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds 616 (2014) 173-183, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2014.07.143. Figure 7 duplicates figure 10 of the article that had already appeared in Surface & Coatings Technology 258 (2014) 467-484, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2014.08.052. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents an abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process. Journal records indicate that confirmation of the submission and publication of the article was sent to the first author's email address, in addition to an email that used the corresponding author's name (guoyitangforwork@163.com). The corresponding author and the first author wish to mention that the co-author Zion T.H. Tse was not involved in the preparation and handling of this article. He was not informed about the publication and he did not grant the use of his name and affiliation in the publication. Prof. S. Petter Lyngstadaas, Dr. Hanna Tiainen and Dr. Sebastian Geissler from University of Oslo are acknowledged for the considerable effort put into collecting the evidence and reporting this case of multiple publication.