Elevated serum IL-6 and total IgEAb are associated with poor survival in natural killer/T-cell lymphoma.

Natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is an aggressive and malignant condition with a high mortality rate. Prognostic factors may assist to evaluate the outcome of the disease and may also be useful in selecting appropriate therapeutic strategies for patients. The study aims to describe NKTCL in terms of its clinical features, laboratory examinations, and immunophenotypes and to analyze relevance affecting patient survival outcomes. The patients diagnosed as NKTCL in Jinling Hospital from Jan. 2012 to Dec. 2022 were reviewed retrospectively in this study basing on histopathology. The analysis was performed to evaluate overall survival (OS). A total of 125 NKTCL patients were included, which mainly affected male more than female with the onset median age of 51.00 years old (range, 14 ~ 85 y). NKTCL commonly affects the nasopharynx and upper aerodigestive tract, intestines, and skin. The median overall survival was 13.00 months (range, 2-156 m), and the 5-year survival rate was 9.8%. Under univariable analysis revealed the following factors at diagnosis age: serum total IgEAb ≥ 54.6 IU/mL, IL-6 ≥ 32.445 ng/L, elevated PINK score, smoking, and extranasopharyngeal site were statistically significant predictors for OS. Compared to the patients who received radiotherapy alone or chemotherapy alone, the patients who received combined chemoradiotherapy had longer OS. We found that IL-6 and total IgEAb were significant prognostic factors in NKTCL patients. Also, extranasopharyngeal site was correlated with advanced disease.

Hexavalent Chromium Induces Neurotoxicity by Triggering Mitochondrial Dysfunction and ROS-Mediated Signals.

Hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)), one of the most detrimental pollutants, has been ubiquitously present in the environment and causes serious toxicity to humans, such as hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, pulmonary toxicity, and cardiotoxicity. However, Cr (VI)-induced neurotoxicity in primary neuron level has not been well explored yet. Herein, potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) was employed to examine the neurotoxicity of Cr (VI) in rat primary hippocampal neurons. MTT test was used to examine the neural viability. Mitochondrial dysfunction was assessed by the JC-1 probe and Mito-Tracker probe. DCFH-DA and Mito-SOX Red were utilized to evaluate the oxidative status. Bcl-2 family and MAPKs expression were investigated using Western blotting. The results demonstrated that Cr (VI) treatment dose- and time-dependently inhibited neural viability. Mechanism investigation found that Cr (VI) treatment causes mitochondrial dysfunction by affecting Bcl-2 family expression. Moreover, Cr (VI) treatment also induces intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, DNA damage, and MAPKs activation in neurons. However, inhibition of ROS by glutathione (GSH) effectually balanced Bcl-2 family expression, attenuated DNA damage and the MAPKs activation, and eventually improved neural viability neurons. Collectively, these above results above suggest that Cr (VI) causes significant neurotoxicity by triggering mitochondrial dysfunction, ROS-mediated oxidative damage and MAKPs activation.

Pilonidal cyst of the scalp.

A 19-year-old male patient presented with a slow-growing mass on his scalp over a 10-year history. After resecting the mass, he was diagnosed with pilonidal cyst based on the clinical and histological findings. An unusual pilonidal disease is observed on the scalp in this report.

In Situ Electrospinning of "Dry-Wet" Conversion Nanofiber Dressings for Wound Healing.

Rapid wound dressings provide an excellent solution strategy for the treatment of wounds in emergency situations. In this study, aqueous solvent-based PVA/SF/SA/GelMA nanofiber dressings fabricated by a handheld electrospinning device could deposit quickly and directly on the wound, perfectly fitting wounds with various sizes. Using an aqueous solvent overcame the disadvantage of using the current organic solvents as the medium for rapid wound dressings. The porous dressings had excellent air permeability to ensure smooth gas exchange at the wound site. The distribution range of the tensile strength of the dressings was 9-12 Kpa, and the tensile strain was between 60-80%, providing sufficient mechanical support during wound healing. The dressings could absorb 4-8 times their own weight in solution and could rapidly absorb wound exudates from wet wounds. The nanofibers formed ionic crosslinked hydrogel after absorbing exudates, maintaining the moist condition. It formed a hydrogel-nanofiber composite structure with un-gelled nanofibers and combined the photocrosslinking network to maintain a stable structure at the wound location. The in vitro cell culture assay indicated that the dressings had excellent cell cytocompatibility, and the addition of SF contributed to cell proliferation and wound healing. The in situ deposited nanofiber dressings had excellent potential in the urgent treatment of emergency wounds.

Effect of anion-exchange membrane type for FCDI performance at different concentrations.

Brackish water was an important alternative source of freshwater. Desalination using flow electrode capacitive deionization (FCDI) needs to explore the role of ion exchange membranes (IEM) of FCDI. In this study, brackish water was desalinated using FCDI, and anion exchange membranes with different characteristics were used in the FCDI cell to investigate their influence. The result showed that the membrane polymer matrix was the main influencing factor for ion transport. Ion exchange capacity (IEC) has a huge impact that low IEC made the various ion transport priority. Low IEC not only limits ion transport but also leads to ion leakage in seawater. Resistance had a significant blockage to the effect with weak intensity.

Development of a low-cost multi-channel nucleic acid detection PCR instrument and clinical detection application of COVID-19.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak at the end of December 2019, a variety of novel Coronavirus nucleic acid detection methods have been proposed at home and abroad. Because of the disadvantages of most existing PCR instruments on the market such as long reaction time and high cost, this study developed a more timesaving and cheaper two-channel real-time quantitative PCR instrument. In this instrument, a PCR system combining a thermal cycle system and real-time fluorescence quantitative technology was designed. The software system and data processing, optical system, thermal cycle module, and hardware module of the PCR instrument were studied. The low-cost, portable real-time quantitative PCR system has been validated with consistent results compared to Bio-rad CFX Connect. At the same time, the same samples were used for the contract experiment with the hospital instrument, and the amplification result was better than the existing instrument in the hospital.

Association between IL8RB C1208T mutation and risk of cancer: A pooled analysis based on 5299 cases and 6899 controls.

INTRODUCTION: The CXC chemokines are unique cytokines that play a vital role in the progression of many cancers. Association between chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 2 (IL8RB) C1208T mutation and cancer risk remains incomprehensive. METHODS: We therefore utilized odds ratios and in silico analysis to explore the relationship of IL8RB polymorphism on risk to cancer. Furthermore, we adopted gene set enrichment analysis to investigate the IL8RB expression in prostate adenocarcinoma. RESULTS: A total of 14 case-control studies combined with 5299 cases and 6899 controls were included in our analysis. We revealed that individuals carrying TT genotype had an 14% increased cancer risk compared with those with TC + colon cancer (CC) genotype (odds ratio [OR] = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.05-1.25, P = .003, I2 = 35.6). Stratification analysis by race showed that East Asians with TT + TC genotype may have a 25% decreased cancer risk compared with control. Stratification analysis by cancer type revealed that individuals with TT genotype were associated with elevated risk of urinary cancer than control. The expression of IL8RB was attenuated in prostate adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: IL8RB C1208T may be correlated with the risk of cancer, especially prostate adenocarcinoma.

Prediction of Strain Fatigue Life of HRB400 Steel Based on Meso-Deformation Inhomogeneity.

The relationship between strain fatigue life and evolution of meso-deformation inhomogeneity was studied, through the cyclic process of numerical simulation of crystal plasticity compared with the fatigue test of steel hot-rolled ribbed-steel bar 400 (HRB400). The statistical characterization parameters at grain level, including the standard deviation of the dot product of longitudinal stress and strain, the product of the macro stress and the standard deviation of the longitudinal strain, and the product of the macro stress ratio and the standard deviation of the longitudinal strain, were proposed and respectively applied to measure the meso-deformation inhomogeneity of materials. These parameters take the effect of peak stress into account, distinct from the pure strain statistical parameters. The numerical results demonstrate that the low-cycle fatigue life curves of materials are predictable using the new parameters as FIPs (fatigue indicator parameters), and the predictions are more rational than by utilizing the FIPs without considering the peak stress effect.

Dual Crosslinked Methacrylated Alginate Hydrogel Micron Fibers and Tissue Constructs for Cell Biology.

As an important natural polysaccharide biomaterial from marine organisms, alginate and its derivatives have shown great potential in the fabrication of biomedical materials such as tissue engineering, cell biology, drug delivery, and pharmaceuticals due to their excellent biological activity and controllable physicochemical properties. Ionic crosslinking is the most common method used in the preparation of alginate-based biomaterials, but ionic crosslinked alginate hydrogels are prone to decompose in physiological solution, which hinders their applications in biomedical fields. In this study, dual crosslinked alginate hydrogel microfibers were prepared for the first time. The ionic crosslinked methacrylated alginate (Alg-MA) hydrogel microfibers fabricated by Microfluidic Fabrication (MFF) system were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light and covalent crosslink between methacrylate groups avoided the fracture of dual crosslinked macromolecular chains in organizational environment. The chemical structures, swelling ratio, mechanical performance, and stability were investigated. Cell-encapsulated dual crosslinked Alg-MA hydrogel microfibers were fabricated to explore the application in tissue engineering for the first time. The hydrogel microfibers provided an excellent 3D distribution and growth conditions for cells. Cell-encapsulated Alg-MA microfibers scaffolds with functional 3D tissue structures were developed which possessed great potential in the production of next-generation scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Preparation and Properties of Minocycline-Loaded Carboxymethyl Chitosan Gel/Alginate Nonwovens Composite Wound Dressings.

As derivatives from marine natural biomaterials, alginate-based and chitosan-based biomaterials are commonly used in wound dressings. Calcium alginate fiber (CAF) dressings possess excellent absorption and unique gel forming performance, but the low bioactivity limits its application in wound healing. Carboxymethyl chitosan (CM-Chit) has excellent antibacterial activity, but the gel structure with weak mechanical properties restricts its application. In this study, minocycline (Mino)/CM-Chit solution was coated on the surface of plasma treated CAF needle-punched nonwovens, and then Mino loaded CM-Chit gel/CAF nonwovens composite dressings were fabricated by EDC/NHS (1-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride/N-hydroxysuccinimide) crosslinking. The dressings had a porous composite structure, which allowed them to quickly absorb and store a large number of wound exudates. Skin-like tensile performance allowed the dressings to provide a better healing environment. Antibacterial assay against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus indicated that the addition of Mino significantly improved the antibacterial activity of the wound dressings. The tight structure of CM-Chit gel prevented the burst release of Mino so that the dressings had antibacterial activity in a certain period of release time. Cell culture assay showed that the dressings had excellent cell biocompatibility. As new functional dressings, the prepared composite dressings had excellent potential in the clinical healing of wounds.

A Study of Strain-Driven Nucleation and Extension of Deformed Grain: Phase Field Crystal and Continuum Modeling.

The phase-field-crystal (PFC) method is used to investigate migration of grain boundary dislocation and dynamic of strain-driven nucleation and growth of deformed grain in two dimensions. The simulated results show that the deformed grain nucleates through forming a gap with higher strain energy between the two sub-grain boundaries (SGB) which is split from grain boundary (GB) under applied biaxial strain, and results in the formation of high-density ensembles of cooperative dislocation movement (CDM) that is capable of plastic flow localization (deformed band), which is related to the change of the crystal lattice orientation due to instability of the orientation. The deformed grain stores the strain energy through collective climbing of the dislocation, as well as changing the orientation of the original grain. The deformed grain growth (DGG) is such that the higher strain energy region extends to the lower strain energy region, and its area increase is proportional to the time square. The rule of the time square of the DGG can also be deduced by establishing the dynamic equation of the dislocation of the strain-driven SGB. The copper metal is taken as an example of the calculation, and the obtained result is a good agreement with that of the experiment.

Poly(butylene terephthalate) Fiber Assembly with Controllable Pore Size and Gradient Wettability: Potential in Simplifying Cell Culture Procedure.

This study reports the scalable fabrication of a poly(butylene terephthalate) fiber assembly featured with controllable pore size and gradient wettability. Pore size is controlled via adjusting the throughput of melt blown process, while gradient wettability is achieved through single-sided plasma exposure and subsequent chitosan coating. When used in cell culture, the fiber assembly takes much less time in reaching a high cell collecting/releasing rate up to ≥99.5%, which is similar to that of the conventional centrifugal method. Other advantages of the fiber assembly, such as improved cell viability, reduced risk of contamination, and excellent reusability are also proved, leading us to believe its great potential in making the current cell culture procedure simpler and faster.