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Background: The C-reactive protein-albumin-lymphocyte (CALLY) score is a novel indicator associated with inflammation, immunity, and nutrition, utilized for cancer prognostic stratification. This study aimed to evaluate the integrated prognostic significance of the pre-treatment CALLY score and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA levels in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients and to develop prognostic models. Patients and Methods: A total of 1707 NPC patients from September 2015 to December 2017 were retrospectively enrolled. The cut-off point for the CALLY score, determined by maximum selected rank statistics, integrates with the published cut-off point for pre-EBV DNA to develop a comprehensive index. Subsequently, patients were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio into training and validation cohorts. Survival analysis was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method with Log rank tests, and the Cox proportional hazards model was applied to identify independent prognostic factors for constructing predictive nomograms. The predictive ability of the nomograms were assessed through the concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis. Results: By integrating CALLY scores and EBV-DNA levels, patients were categorized into three risk clusters. Kaplan-Meier curves reveal significant differences in overall survival (OS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) outcomes among different risk groups (all P values < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that CALLY-EBV DNA index serves as an independent prognostic factor for the OS, DMFS, and LRRFS. The prognostic nomograms based on the CALLY-EBV DNA index provided accurate predictions for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year OS, DMFS, and LRRFS. Additionally, compared to the traditional TNM staging system, the nomograms exhibited enhanced discriminatory power, calibration capability, and clinical applicability. All results were in agreement with the validation cohort. Conclusion: The CALLY-EBV DNA index is an independent prognostic biomarker. The nomogram prediction models, constructed based on the CALLY-EBV DNA index, demonstrates superior predictive performance compared to the traditional TNM staging.
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Nintedanib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor-, vascular endothelial growth factor-, and platelet-derived growth factor receptors. These three receptors promote new blood vessel formation and maintenance, which is essential for tumor growth and spread. Several trials have shown that nintedanib plays a substantial role in treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Recently, several clinical trials of nintedanib to treat NSCLC have been reported. In this review, we focus on our current understanding of nintedanib treatment for advanced NSCLC patients and summarize the literature on using nintedanib in radiation-induced lung toxicity and the efficacy and tolerability of nintedanib.
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Background: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are closely associated to tumorigenesis and development. However, the relationship between NETs-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the characteristics of breast tumor remains an enigma. This study aimed to explore the clinical prognostic value of NETs-related lncRNAs, their correlation with the tumor microenvironment (TME) and their predictive ability of drug sensitivity in patients with breast cancer (BC). Methods: The expression profiles of RNA-sequencing and relevant clinical data of BC patients were extracted from TCGA database. The co-expression network analysis, univariable, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and multivariable Cox algorithms were employed to construct the NETs-related lncRNAs signature. A nomogram was established and validated to explore the clinical application. Furthermore, the immune microenvironment and drug sensitivity for BC with different prognostic risks were explored. Finally, the expression pattern of lncRNAs was validated using qRT-PCR in BC tissues and their adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Results: Based on NETs-related lncRNAs, a prognostic risk model consisted of 10 lncRNAs (SFTA1P, ACTA2-AS1, AC004816.2, AC000067.1, LINC01235, LINC01010, AL133467.1, AC092919.1, AL591468.1, and MIR200CHG) was established. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the overall survival (OS) was significantly better in low-risk BC patients than in high-risk BC patients (P training cohort < 0.001, P validation cohort = 0.009). The nomogram also showed good predictive accuracy for OS of BC individuals in both training and validation cohorts. The function enrichment analysis revealed that high-risk group was mainly enriched in immune-related functions and pathways, and the tumor mutation burden in this group was markedly higher than that in the low-risk group (p = 0.022). Moreover, significant differences were observed in immune cells, immune functions and immune checkpoint genes among BC patients at different risks (p < 0.05). The response to chemotherapeutic agents and immunotherapy were also closely related with the expression of NETs-related lncRNAs (p < 0.001). The expression of lncRNAs from experimental validation were generally consistent with the bioinformatics analysis results. Conclusion: Our study provided a novel prognostic model for BC and yielded strong scientific rationale for individualized treatment strategies, elucidating immunotherapy in BC patients.
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Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive malignant tumor that is prone to lead to the development of brain metastases (BM). The application of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) has been regarded as an important technological advance made in cancer therapy to reduce the occurrence of BM and improve patient survival. The benefits of PCI in the treatment of limited-stage SCLC have been confirmed. However, there has been continuous controversy about the indications and advantages of PCI for extensive-stage SCLC (ES-SCLC) because of the conflicting results from two prospective trials. In this review, we aimed to discuss the relevant controversy and progress made in the clinical application of PCI in ES-SCLC.
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Gas barrier membranes with impressive moisture permeability are highly demanded in air or nature gas dehumidification. We report a novel approach using polyetheramine oligomers covalently grafted on the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to engineer liquid-like CNT nanofluids (CNT NFs), which are incorporated into a polyimide matrix to enhance the gas barrier and moisture permeation properties. Benefiting from the featured liquid-like characteristic of CNT NFs, a strong interfacial compatibility between CNTs and the polyimide matrix is achieved, and thus, the resulting membranes exhibit high heat resistance and desirable mechanical strength as well as remarkable fracture toughness, beneficially to withstanding creep, impact, and stress fatigue in separation applications. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy measurements indicate a significant decrease in fractional free volume within the resulting membranes, leading to greatly enhanced gas barrier properties while almost showing full retention of moisture permeability compared to that of the pristine membrane. For membranes with 10 wt % CNT NFs, the gas transmission rates, respectively, decrease 99.9% for CH4, 94.4% for CO2, 99.2% for N2, and 97.9% for O2 compared with that of the pristine membrane. Most importantly, with the increasing amount of CNT NFs, the hybrid membranes demonstrate a simultaneous increase of barrier performance and permselectivity for H2O/CH4, H2O/N2, H2O/CO2, and H2O/O2. All these results make these membranes potential candidates for high-pressure natural gas or hyperthermal air dehydration.
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The Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica) is widely distributed in mainland Asia, but its introduction into Japan and subsequent expansion have affected the Japanese weasel (M. itatsi). To provide a useful tool for population genetic studies and control of M. sibirica, we developed 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Among 40 individuals of M. sibirica collected in Hubei Province, China, the number of alleles per locus varied from 2 to 19, with the observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.050 to 1.000 and the expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.049 to 0.920. None of the loci deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These markers will be useful in further studies investigating the population structure and natural history of M. sibirica, and may thus provide new insights for the efficient management of this species.
Subject(s)
Microsatellite Repeats , Mustelidae/genetics , Animals , Genome-Wide Association Study/standards , Introduced Species , Polymorphism, GeneticABSTRACT
The metalloregulatory protein MerR which plays important roles in mer operon system exhibits high affinity and selectivity toward mercury (II) (Hg2+). In order to improve the adsorption ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Hg2+, MerR was displayed on the surface of S. cerevisiae for the first time with an α-agglutinin-based display system in this study. The merR gene was synthesized after being optimized and added restriction endonuclease sites EcoR I and Mlu I. The display of MerR was indirectly confirmed by the enhanced adsorption ability of S. cerevisiae for Hg2+ and colony PCR. The hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry was applied to measure the Hg2+ content in water. The engineered yeast strain not only showed higher tolerance to Hg, but also their adsorption ability was much higher than that of origin and control strains. The engineered yeast could adsorb Hg2+ under a wide range of pH levels, and it could also adsorb Hg2+ effectively with Cd2+ and Cu2+ coexistence. Furthermore, the engineered yeast strain could adsorb ultra-trace Hg2+ effectively. The results above showed that the surface-engineered yeast strain could adsorb Hg2+ under complex environmental conditions and could be used for the biosorption and bioremediation of environmental Hg contaminants.
